What is problem gambling?
Many people enjoy social gambling in Australia . Although they may
hope to win, the underlying expectancy is to lose and consequently,
the expenditure is limited and control maintained over the gambling
behaviour. However, the problem gambler is unable to walk away from
gambling activity, no matter how devastating the results may become.
It is estimated that over 1 in 50 people in Australia are problem
gamblers and as most of those have families, the effect of problem
gambling in the general population, is at least double that figure.
The American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (DSM-1V), defines a pathological or problem gambler
as someone who has a chronic and progressive failure to resist impulses
to gamble, even when it damages or compromises family, personal and
vocational pursuits.
The three basic features of problem gambling are:
- Gambling to excess
- Failure to control gambling
- Adverse lifestyle impacts
Other associated features may include:
- Distortions in thinking- a belief that gambling is an investment
of time and skill
- Substance abuse- drugs, alcohol
- Personality or mood disorders
- Highly competitive, restless and easily bored
- Suicidal
- Chronic high levels of stress/anxiety
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Problem gambling often appears in early adolescence in males but later
in life with females. There have been many theories as to the reasons
why some people become problem gamblers, from the pre-20 th Century
thinking that it was a character defect, a sign of mania (Psychoanalytical
theory), an addiction (the DSM-1V criteria) or an escape from psychological
pain (John Gray 1990).
Most gambling counsellors regard problem gamblers as having a combination
of predisposing factors. It is "A dependant state acquired over time
by a predisposed person to relieve chronic stress." (Jacobs 1986).
A predisposed person may have some or all the following factors:
- A less than optimal nurturing psychological development which leads
to limiting self beliefs. Often a major trauma occurs early in their
life.
- Physiologically, long term abnormal fluctuations of their autonomic
nervous system, meaning that they lose the middle way of dealing
with stress and become predisposed to addictions to cope.
- A chance stress reduction event occurs in their life, e.g. gambling
and winning, which maintains addictive patterns.
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In effect, gambling for many problem gamblers, is the only means of
reducing intolerably high levels of chronic stress, depression, boredom
and loneliness. It is a way to escape or dissociate. There is a cycle
of problem gambling, which is a closed system and will not change once
it has been established, without help and the impact of it on the individual
and their family becomes progressively worse over time. In extreme cases,
criminal activity or suicidal ideation are also common features.
Gambling behaviour can be changed provided that people genuinely wish
to and they learn strategies to change that behaviour, through a trained
counsellor. Counselling is also often necessary for the partners and
families of problem gamblers.
Some facts about gambling*:
- Out of every $100 invested with the tab or on a poker machine,
only $87 (at best) is returned.
- With bookmakers between $90 and $95 is returned.
- A problem gambler, on average, loses about $12,000 each year, compared
to other gamblers who lose about $600 per year.
- The most addictive form of gambling is poker machines.
- NSW has over ½ of the poker machines in australia and 1/10
th of the poker machines in the world.
* sourced from the Illawarra Community Health Service Problem Gambling
Facilitators Manual
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