Gambling addiction is also known as compulsive gambling, hidden illness, ludomania. It is an impulsive urge to gamble in spite of facing a loss or desire to stop. It creates adverse consequences for gambler and his family. Casino addiction can be any gambling that causes negative consequences to gambler or anyone else in any way. It is listed under Substance-related disorder or Addictive disorder rather than Impulse-control disorders.

Diagnosis of addiction– Unlike drug addiction symptoms, there is no physical sign of addiction symptom.

• In order to achieve the desired excitement, gamble with increased amount of money.
• When try to stop gambling or betting, person gets irritated and agitated.
• Person has failed many a times to stop himself from betting.
• Person’s mind is preoccupied with gambling thoughts. He may be lost in thoughts to relive the past gambling experience, or thinking about the tricks and tack tics to win in next gambling.
• People go on doing gambling again when he feels guilty, anxious or helpless.
• Keep on chasing even after losing money.
• Person has lost job, broken relationship or has failed in education or career due to gambling habit.
• Person relay on others to get the money to make up for financial crisis caused because of his casino.
• They go a long way to hide their gambling.

Problems associated with Gambling addiction- Gambling addiction can stain relationship, work and lead to financial catastrophe. You end up doing things that you never thought you would do as stealing money, selling your home products but with the right help and guidance you can come out of this gambling addiction. Many gamblers are also addicted to alcohol. Gamblers often go in depression or attempt suicide due to continuous failure in stopping the urge to gamble.

Treatment of addiction- Gambling treatments involves counselling, self help, help from peers, medication, step based programme or combination of these. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one type of counselling form for gamblers. Here counsellor deals with the thought process of the patient, moods of the patient and thinking errors in patient’s mind.

Pathological gambling is repetitive and persistent maladaptive behaviour to gamble. It is characterized by deleterious psycho social consequences.

Why do people gamble?

With increasing money, urge to earn more and fast also increases or in order to make money easily and faster, people start gambling. There is a small probability of winning big prize so poor people tend to start betting in order to get a chance to get the big prize so that they can be live a better life.