An addiction to gambling?

What does it mean to gamble? It is quite simply, money that is risked for a possible monetary gain.

There are obvious advantages and disadvantages of this situation however, because there is a serious buzz when you win, but when you lose there can be major consequences. For many people, gambling can be seen as a bit of fun or a game amongst friends in which minor bets are made and if you lose, you don't feel particularly feel deprived when you lose a couple of quid.

However this may not always be the case, as some people get so involved in the thrill that it can become an addiction in which the stakes are raised. People have been known to bet their car, house or even their life savings, in the hope of gaining a large amount in return. But as the odds may suggest, this isn't always a guarantee.


So what is the attraction? From personal experience of playing on the old pub quiz machine when out drinking with mates, it is the feeling we get each time we get an answer right and our money total increases. Yet we still won't collect our winnings because we're all feeling lucky. Of course when we get that one question wrong, there is the defeat of losing £20. However we all take another swig of our pints and laugh it off. It's only a bit of fun at the end of the day.

But what if we'd lost our university savings, or the next payment for our bills? I'm sure a smile and all the alcohol in the world couldn't save us from that defeat, yet people are still willing to get themselves into those situations.

In 2008, Graham Calvert was attempting to sue bookmaker's William Hill on the grounds of negligence; he believed that they had fueled his addiction after closing his account as it was 'too easy to gamble'. He was told that he couldn't re-open his account or bet with them for another six months, yet two months later he did start betting with them again and nothing was done to stop him. Before realising that he had to stop, Calvert made a loss of £2.1 Million.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7243656.stm

The above story is an example of the rush of gambling gone too far. So when does it stop becoming a bit of fun, and become a problem? When the stakes are raised too far, obviously.