Gambling is any activity in which wealth changes hands based on chance and with an element of risk to the participant. It can take many forms including betting on a football match or a horse race, playing card games, casino games, fruit machines and scratchcards. The bettor’s intention is to gain something of value, either money or possessions, in return for an investment of time, effort and money. The bettor may also bet on a contest with an uncertain outcome, such as the roll of a dice or the spin of a roulette wheel. While the majority of people gamble for fun, a small group develops serious gambling problems that can have devastating personal, family and financial consequences.
Gamblers are attracted to the prospect of winning large amounts of money for a relatively low investment. They may also find excitement and pleasure in the social aspects of gambling, such as meeting friends or other gamblers. Some people even use gambling as a way to escape from boredom or stress. However, a person’s gambling behavior can become problematic when the gambler loses control over his or her spending and begins to experience feelings of distress.
A number of psychological and medical models have been advanced to explain pathological gambling. These include a general theory of addictions, reward deficiency syndrome, behavioral-environmental reasons and a biopsychosocial model. Despite the fact that these models differ considerably, they all have some empirical support in the literature.
The major problem with these models is that they do not adequately account for the fact that people gamble for a variety of reasons and that these reasons are often influenced by different factors. For example, a person may be tempted to gamble in order to achieve a state of euphoria that is similar to the feeling that comes from ingesting certain drugs. In addition, a person may feel the need to obtain status or a sense of belonging and casinos are designed to foster these desires.
Other factors that can influence gambling behavior and lead to pathological gambling are a lack of effective coping mechanisms, boredom susceptibility, impulsivity, a poor understanding of probability, the use of escape coping, depression, and stressful life experiences. Moreover, a person may lie to their family or therapist about the extent of their involvement in gambling in order to conceal it from them. Thus, the nomenclature used to describe the severity of gambling disorders must reflect these various perspectives. It is important for researchers, psychiatrists, other treatment care clinicians and public policy makers to have an agreed upon nomenclature so that they can communicate effectively. This will allow them to design interventions and develop policies that are relevant to a diverse audience. This will in turn foster the development of more effective and sustainable treatment strategies. This is particularly crucial in a context where the availability of treatment is strained and resources are limited.