Does everyone think that it is actually an addiction?

Hi WilliamR, an interesting post and topic, thank you for sharing it.

I gambled for twenty years and have given up for around six. I have also been an active member/viewer of this Forum on an almost daily basis for the past seven years.

Gambling gets little public sympathy because people see it as an active choice; with alcohol, drugs or even food, there is a physical substance involved that a lot of people can relate to.

Greed and money is most certainly a factor when you start but this doesn't last long if you get in too deep; the grim realisation that you will lose whatever you win, whether that be today or at some point in the near future, doesn't take long to recognize.

The fundamental difference between someone who can control gambling and someone who can't is a question of emotional vulnerability. If you win, the level of euphoria is so great that you are desperate to repeat it within hours, maybe even minutes (in that way, it is similar to a drug) - this invariably leads to losing and then you find yourself gambling at a higher rate than ever to get it back again. If you lose, you face soul-wrenching desperation to continue playing and "win" back what you have lost, which invariably leads to losing and spending money you don't have. Other people can walk away, win or lose, it just doesn't affect them to that extent.

So in a sense, it is like a drug. Imagine if you bought a scratchcard and won a £1000 - you understandably be over the moon - this is what compulsive gamblers chase; not the money, but that feeling of all-encompassing euphoria. We can never spend the money because we always need it in reserve in case we have a "bad run" - it is largely worthless. That is the futility of this addiction - we risk everything trying to win money we can never spend.

I hope this provides you with some more background. Thank you again.

JamesP

Hi WIlliam. This is an interesting philosophical topic.

In my mind, there is little doubt - it is an addiction.

Firstly in terms of the science - we know that dopamine - the "reward signal" in the brain - is activated during gambling, similar to drugs / alcohol. Interestingly, studies on roulette players have recorded as much dopamine activity in the brain when punters lose money with a near-miss as when they have a big win. So dopamine seems to also indicate how close you got to the reward and encourage another attempt - all surely contributing to a downward spiral to addiction.

Secondly if you just look at the symptoms of those of us who go down this path, it seems clear to me it is an addiction. We often crave or yearn for the next piece of gambling action, we can't imagine life without it, it overrides everything else in life leading to nonsensical decisions which we wouldn't otherwise make, it spirals dramatically, once we start we can't stop, we do it to the point of self-destruction. All of these symptoms are the same as drug or drink addiction.

Unfortunately as there is no 'substance' involved, it is less tangible in the mind of the general public, compared with drink and drugs. With those there is a feeling that there is a third party agent which has taken control of the individual and to an extent, he/she is powerless against it. That gives people a degree of sympathy. Of course it is exactly the same with gambling, it's just that we don't put anything into our bodies.

Cheers,

Ross

Huge numbers of chemicals rush to your brain whilst gambling...

It increases tolerance...

It's the same as any drug!