Understanding Problem Gambling

Unlike alcohol or drug addictions, gambling addictions in adults are easy to hide because they rarely cause outward physical symptoms. If you (or someone you know) want to identify the warning signs of a potential gambling addiction, ask the following questions:

• After a loss, do you gamble to win back lost income?
• After a win, do you gamble to win more money?
• Do you gamble to avoid feeling worried, bored, or unhappy?
• Does your personality change when you gamble?
• Do you ever gamble more money than you originally planned?
• Do you ever gamble longer than you originally planned?
• Does gambling disrupt your personal, work, or school life?
• Do you gamble to win money to pay debts or solve financial problems?
• Do you borrow money from other sources of income to finance your gambling?
• Does gambling make you feel careless about the welfare of yourself or family members?
• Have you ever committed (or considered doing) an illegal act to finance your gambling?
• Have you ever had self-destructive thoughts due to gambling problems?

If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, you may have a problem with gambling. Accordion Sample Description

The warning signs of gambling addictions in vulnerable youth differ from those in adults. To identify a potential gambling problem for an adolescent, ask the following questions:

• Do they exhibit an extreme interest in winning money?
• Do they use gambling vocabulary (i.e. bet, bookie, point spread) in conversations that don’t involve gambling?
• Did they abandon former friends for new, questionable peers?
• Are they suddenly eager to know various sports (game) scores?
• Do they brag about the amount of money or material possessions they have?
• Do they have an increase of valuable items in their possession and unaccountable explanations for how they were obtained?
• Do they borrow or steal money?
• Do they have unexplained absences from school, or do they lie about their whereabouts?
• Are they experiencing a sudden drop in academic or athletic performance?
• Are they withdrawing from family, friends, and / or academic activities?

Each adolescent is unique, and the warning signs of a potential gambling problem will vary. The NMCPG recommends concerned parents to consider all the warning signs of a potential gambling problem in addition to other variables that may be influencing changes in their child’s behavior.

Legalized Gambling

Legalized gambling is betting something of monetary value on a game or an event that has an unknown outcome with the intention of winning more than the initial bet (wager). Gaming advocates say responsible gaming increases job opportunities, state revenue, and gambling tourism. However, legalized gambling opponents are concerned with the increase of problem gambling in the state of New Mexico and throughout the nation. (The New Mexico Council on Problem Gambling (NMCPG) maintains a neutral perspective on legalized gambling.)

Problem Gambling

Problem gambling (a.k.a. compulsive gambling, pathological gambling, disordered gambling, etc.) is the persistent desire to gamble more money more often within a year despite negative consequences and such distress associated with financial problems. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Ed. (DSM-5) renamed pathological gambling as a gambling disorder in the “Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders” category if the individual demonstrates four or more of the following within one year:

• Wants to gamble with more money each time in order to obtain the desired outcome.
• Becomes short-tempered when trying to stop or decrease gambling.
• Repeats unsuccessful attempts to control, decrease, and / or stop gambling.
• Fantasizes about past winnings, future winnings, and / or creative ways to get more gambling money.
• Gambles to numb feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and / or depression.
• Returns to gaming establishment after losing to win back lost income (“chasing loses”).
• Lies to hide the amount of gambling he / she does.
• Compromises valuable relationships, jobs, and / or educational goals for gambling.
• Borrows money from risky sources (i.e. Payday loans) to fund gambling habit; or
• Needs to obtain money from another source to avoid default on financial responsibilities.

Who Can Become Addicted to Gambling?

Anyone who gambles can become addicted to gambling. However, research proves that some individuals are more susceptible to developing a gambling problem, such as people with a family history in problem gambling, those that suffer from substance abuse, and /or individuals with behavioral health concerns. If you want to learn more about gambling problems, please visit the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5.

"Bottoming Out: Gambling Addiction in Las Vegas"

For a visual account of problem gambling, watch Tony McDew depict compulsive gambling behavior of his gambling disease in the captivating documentary, "Bottoming Out: Gambling Addiction in Las Vegas," by Scott Den Herder from the Las Vegas Sun.