Gambling Problem example essay topic

638 words
Gambling has effected many people I know in a negative way and the problem is getting increasingly more serious due to the large amount of young adults who are starting to gamble. Teenagers often face routine warnings about drugs and alcohol but Not about gambling. Gambling is highly addictive, and compulsive gamblers have the same symptoms an alcoholic or a person addicted to drugs would have with their addiction, when someone is addicted to gambling they have a brain disease that is chemically and genetically driven, just as addictive as cocaine in certain individuals. The same way a drug addict needs to take drugs in order to maintain a high, a gambler has to gamble in order to experience the high of winning. Every state except three permit gaming and state governments actually encourage their citizens to gamble because its an easy way for them collect tax free money.

You are considered a compulsive gambler if you have done 5 out of the 10 following criteria: 1. if you are preoccupied with gambling. 2. if you need to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement. 3. if you have had repeated efforts at stopping but cant. 5. if you gamble as a way of escaping from problems 6. if after losing money gambling, you return another day to get even 7. If you lie to family members about the extent of involvement with gambling. 8. if you commit illegal acts to finance gambling. 9. if you have jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, education or career opportunity because of gambling. 10. Or if you rely on others to provide you with money to finance gambling. Is estimated that over (2.5 million) people have a gambling problem, That would make it twice as prevalent as cancer among Americans.

If you do have a gambling problems professionals recommend that you should get counseling and therapy for your problem. Recently gambling has become an even bigger problem in America with more and more younger adults starting to gamble especially among college students, over 50% of the estimated compulsive gamblers are between the ages of 16-24. a main cause of for this has been Internet gambling as you only have to be 18 years old to make sports bets on various web sites. Also poker has become increasingly popular with young adults and web sites like party poker. com are increasingly used by young adults. Statistics prove that teen-age Internet gambling is the fastest growing addiction in American today and this is clearly a problem because the young kids who are rapidly starting to gamble today could eventually become compulsive gamblers. Also in many casinos you only have to be are 18 year olds to gamble, such as at turning stones in upstate New York. There are many ways in which you could gamble especially with technology constantly changing.

There are Lotteries, scratch offs, casinos, horse-racing, sports bets, the internet. All can get very addictive. These are scratch offs and they are one of the most common form of gambling, usually when you get gas you see people buy one. they also can become highly addictive especially for younger people. Ive seen people spend hundreds on these. gambling can really mess up your life I personally have won a thousand dollars in a given night and lost it the next day and I know a lot of friends who are 100,000 dollars in debt right because they cant help themselves.

Gambling can lead to divorce, poor health, unemployment, bankruptcy, and suicide. Gambling is a serious problem and should not be overlooked especially with the increasing number of young people who are starting to gambling.