Gambling or betting is the act of risking money, property or something of value on an activity with an uncertain outcome. Gambling is legally present in most countries of the world, under countless different forms: raffle or lottery tickets; card games for money; skill games, such as pool, golf, arm wrestling or darts for money; football pools, horse/dog racing, casino games, etc. With the advent of the Internet, online betting has become increasingly popular.

For most individuals, gambling is a social activity enjoyed in moderation. People bet for fun or excitement; to win money; to feel challenged. Most people are able to engage in the occasional bet without becoming addicts. Just as many people can have a glass or two of wine with dinner, so can they buy a lottery ticket, visit a racetrack, or spend an occasional evening at the casino for fun. They gamble responsibly for entertainment rather than income and balance this pursuit with other meaningful activities

However, all gambling or betting involves an element of risk. What for most people is just one of many pastimes can turn into pathological behaviour. The severity of a gambling problem can range anywhere from the occasional missed utility bill to a life-threatening relationship with bookmakers and organized crime.

Compulsive or pathological gambling is the inability to resist impulses to gamble, that lead to severe personal or social consequences. It affects men more often than women and progresses from occasional gambling to habitual gambling.

Gambling becomes a problem when people start spending more time or money on gambling than they intended; try to win back the money they have lost; hide their gambling from friends or family; skip school or work to gamble; borrow or steal money for gambling. Others make regular excursions to the casinos and claim that they never lose more than they can afford to. Some insist they have won more than they’ve lost; that it is a harmless form of entertainment and that everyone does it.

Many of us imagine the gambling addict as a person spending days at the race track or the casino, chasing the elusive big win. Reality has, however, shown that the gambling addict can look like the person next door or just like ourselves. When gambling becomes a problem, it has far-reaching consequences on the social, family and even working lives of individuals.

Compulsive gambling just like any other addictive behaviour can be treated through individual and group psychotherapy. Many people have been able to gain control over their lives after undergoing treatment for compulsive gambling. Self-help support groups, such as Gamblers Anonymous similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, exist in many countries.

Most countries are now showing a lot of concern for problem gambling especially among young people, as it is entailing high social and economic costs. Lots of studies are being done on the topic. The real issue is that most countries have legalised gambling over the last four decades and that it definitely boosts State revenue.

Important questions arise, however. Has legalisation increased the proportion of problem gamblers in Western societies? What is the threshold between “social betting” and pathology? Has problem gambling become a threat to families, communities, and society at large and is it claiming a high toll like other addictions ?