In our world today, many people participate in gambling without having a conceptual understanding of how gambling works. Before you indulge in gambling, it is of great importance to know how gambling works in order not to be taken unawares by surprising outcomes. Now, what exactly is gambling?

Gambling refers to the act of participating in the game during which you take a risk by staking your money or anything with monetary value so as to win a prize or money in return. This is actually a game of chance because the outcome may be positive or negative at times. Gambling comes in many forms such as blackjack, poker, casino, etc. Many people enjoy gambling, though it can be risky, therefore you need to be well-informed and ensure you don’t get addicted to it.

Some people say gambling is fun and very exciting, While for others, it has shifted from being fun to a critical situation of addiction. However, gambling becomes an addiction when you are unable to control the desire of playing it and when your financial, educational, family, occupational functions are being negatively affected. Addiction to gambling has more to it than just its problems, but in this write-up, shall unravel, the causes, signs, stages, tips on how to avoid gambling, preventive measures, underage gambling restrictions and also where to find help and counseling.

MAIN REASONS OF GAMBLING ADDICTION

Numerous factors contribute to the problem of gambling addiction. Gamblers have a lot of desperate desire for money, they long for thrills and highs including influential social status. For this reason, they get addicted to the act and breaking out from the cling of gambling becomes a herculean task.

However, gambling addiction can be so severe especially when the gambler must have exhausted and lost all the money and becomes desperate to make up for the loss. The irony of the whole thing is that most time, no matter how much you make, it may not make up for the lost. Therefore it’s never easy to breakeven and most gamblers are not close to it.

Nevertheless, there are many reasons people get addicted to gambling as mentioned above, but we shall look at the biological reason, availability of gambling opportunities and also personal cause.

THE COMMON SIGNS OF GAMBLING ADDICTION

Gambling addiction is accompanied by many signs but the most common sign is that forceful and inevitable urge to gamble. However, here are the common signs or symptoms of gambling addiction:

STAGES OF GAMBLING ADDICTION

Gambling addiction is not something that transpires overnight. Addiction manifests in gradual stages, gamblers from recreation to problem to addicts. However, we shall be looking at their behavior in these unique phases, as follows:

TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID GAMBLING ADDICTION

It is better not to indulge in gambling from the onset because it can stimulate the reward system in the brain, which can make it very difficult to stop. However, gambling addiction can be avoided through the following tips:

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

There is this popular saying that “prevention is better than cure”. There are a lot of preventive measures to this effect, as listed:

GAMBLING SITES’ RESPONSIBILITY

The activities of gambling are assumed to be fun and to reduce boredom just for a small price. The moment it goes beyond fun into something dreadful, you may just own up that you are gradually developing a gambling addiction. Therefore, online operators that offer gambling platforms and services are required to acknowledge the need for responsible gambling and not just focus on making money for themselves alone.

However, many gambling sites offer many facilities to help their customers gamble responsibly. Such facilities are:

The site should ask the gambler if he/she:

Assuming you answer “yes” one of these questions or more, it is a clear indication that you have entirely lost control.

UNDERAGE GAMBLING AND HOW TO PROTECT CHILDREN

Gambling addiction is now a severe challenge in our society especially in this era of increased growth globalization and internet technology. It has really cut across both adults and children, leaving a lot of people in dreadful and pitiable situations. The normal rule is that you must be 18+ before you become eligible to gamble but online gambling may not help matters, because children can input any eligible date of birth as their age to gain access to the game. It is very important for young persons to be protected from this scourge of gambling. Parents should take proactive actions especially these days of massive recruitment into the gambling terrain, to prevent our younger ones from being hooked. Here are the protective measures you can apply to prevent your children from being gambling addicts:

WHERE TO GET HELP WITH GAMBLING ADDICTION

A lot of people have gone into huge debts that have suggested a suicide attempt to result in gambling addiction. However, if you or someone you know has gambling challenges, there are some places to seek help from, which includes:

You can find out more from these useful sites below.

USEFUL SITES

ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL HELP YOU WITH DEBT

Indebtedness is one of the problems that accompany gambling addiction. People borrow to gamble and get frustrated over time as they go deeper into gambling. If you are in this category of individuals, here are organizations that can advise and support you in such situations: