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Gambling: Compulsive Gambling
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Pathological gambling is estimated to occur at the rate of 4 to 7 percent in teenagers. Pathological gambling is a mental disorder characterized by a compulsive need to gamble more and more money, to lie about the extent of one's gambling and to be unable to stop or reduce gambling. An early "big" win, pre-existing mental disorders such as depression or anxiety, and stressful life events ... seem to increase the risks. Emily E. Wilson (Emily E. Wilson is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Huntington and has completed advanced training in gambling addictions with the Problem Gamblers Network of West Virginia:
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There are no national statistics on suicides and attempted suicides related to gambling addiction. In part, this is because they are very hard to collect. Those investigating or treating an incident may not always pursue gambling as a possible factor. Even if such reporting becomes mandatory, compulsive gamblers and those close to them may hide the problem due to feelings of shame and guilt. In some cases, suicides are disguised as “accidents.”
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"The issue of compulsive gambling remains a significant challenge and the approach required to effectively combat this requires transparency and involvement from various stakeholders," said Kitchen. "Payment card holders can be offered the possibility to restrict their ability to gamble on the Internet by way of applying to be excluded via a self-exclusion program. When self-exclusion from Internet gambling is put into effect via the payments system, it becomes impossible for the person concerned to participate in any gambling on the Internet that uses traditional card payments through the payment processor."
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There is evidence that the SSRI paroxetine is efficient in the treatment of pathological gambling [7]. Additionally, for patients suffering from both pathological gambling and a comorbid bipolar spectrum condition, sustained release lithium has shown efficacy in a preliminary trial. [8]. The opiate antagonist drug nalmefene has ... been trialled quite successfully for the treatment of compulsive gambling.
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Attorneys General from across the nation are urging Congress to pass legislation outlawing Internet gambling. Simply because the game is played online does not erase the problems associated with gambling. States must still address issues of game integrity, effective consumer dispute resolution procedures, access to gambling by minors, money laundering and other criminal activity, as well as compulsive gambling.
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Bingo and other gambling remains important for some churches and private schools, but competition has hurt revenues. Fantasy football and other games centered in leagues and taverns are popular as well. Internet gambling emerged and regulation is being discussed. Since the 1950s, Gamblers Anonymous and similar groups organized to help compulsive gamblers, who make up about one percent of the population.
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Compulsive Gambling