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Gambling perhaps can be regarded as the second oldest profession known to mankind. Apart from the primitive urges that drove the apes throughout in their evolution routine, an innate desire to take risks and emerge out a champion among their folks was the one quality that curtailed the herd psyche and made Homo sapiens the front runners in the battle of survival. This attraction towards unknown and stuff whose outcome was beyond the controls of physical and mental prowess laid the foundation of our science, religion, mythology, theology and most of the knowledge that went on to become hallmark of our species. After all weren’t Adam and Eve gambling with destiny and order of Lord when they took the bite of the forbidden fruit? Behold! The way their gamble has paid off…

The attraction towards the game of chance is thus something that has been hard-wired in our psyche. The reasons for it can be attributed to our ancestors, right up there in pre-historic era, who were always fighting some odd or the other. Their beating these odds was the key to their survival and that of their race. Cut to the 21st century. Gambling today is a multi-billion dollar industry that thrives on the passion and addiction of a modern day gambler who is always “nearly missing” hitting the ever-elusive jackpot. What compels a hard-nosed business man or an executive with fancy degrees; a testimony to the intelligence and rationale that has guided them in all aspects of their lives; to blow away their hard earned money in a single night in an obscene casino, makes for an interesting study shedding light on the motives and desires of a mind that always lives on the edge.

First of all we should understand that all gamblers do not fit into stereotype images that other non-gamblers have of them. Here we are referring to both the stereotypes that sit on the opposite end of the spectrum. One is of a suave, sophisticated, ladies man, who knows his wine and always has three aces up his sleeve: an image that is reinforced through James Bond like characters that make gambling oh-so-glamorous and sexed up. On the other end exists the poor cousin of this good-looking-devil. He is a social rot -famished, on drugs, stealing, fighting; all for the sake of gambling. He has gotten so addicted to it that his existence is endangered and he is a menace to his society and family. Thankfully our real life gambler is somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.

In real life the gambling fraternity can be divided into three broad classes each having their own sets of motives and reasons. These are:

1) Casual Gamblers or Low Risk Gamblers:

This is a category of persons who take gambling for what it is, a sport. These are the people who will play a card game on special occasions, bet on horse races as part of a social event, and place a wager with their cousins who are equally passionate about the outcome of Euro Cup. For them gambling is just one of the skills that are necessary to establish that they are persons of the world. Since their societal circle demands this or they get thrills out of this they indulge in gambling. The most important thing though is that they always play with the surplus they are having and know when to draw the line as to when to get up and go on with life.

2) Habitual Gamblers or Problem Gamblers:

This category consists of people for whom gambling has graduated from being a time pass activity to serious business. For them it has become a habit that can not be kicked off easily for they indulge in gambling for the sake of gambling. The reason why habitual gamblers are categorized as problem gambler because gambling as a habit per se is surely a serious issue for any individual unless he is on a continuous winning streak.

3) Pathological Gamblers:

This is the category that probably consists of the persons who are reasons for the second stereotype mentioned above. Pathological is defined in psychological parlance as a compulsion characterized by an ability to resist overwhelming and irrational desires. Thus pathological gamblers are those who are irrationally attracted to gambling and have lost the power of judgment as to when its time for them to call it a day. Just like a drug addict gambling becomes the centre of their existence overriding any moral, ethical, economical or social arguments against it. They often have other behavior disorders afflicting their personality – a situation termed as Co-morbidity. People falling in this category need strong help to drive them out of this nadir.

This was the classification of gamblers with their reasons for what they are. Now let us try and understand how a person moves about in these stages. What actually initiates an individual in the world of gambling? As stated earlier, for our ancestors avoiding risks was altogether a big risk that they can not afford to take. Considering from where we stand today, going into dark forests with only stone tools to hunt down a beast was a perilous gamble most will not indulge in today. But for them it was a way of life. So slowly but surely this risk taking ability has boiled down in all of us. For a novice the risk of gambling is so minuscule and reward so high that for him it makes sheer common sense to go on with it. Add to it the glamour and high life associated with the profession it becomes a Herculean task to resist the bait. These games are often built in such a format that the gambler thinks that his skills are improving and he is closer then ever to winning. This, if not checked eventually moves on to become a habit and then an addiction. Basically gambling plays on two universal emotions the desire to win huge without actually slogging for it and the difficulty of giving up that dream no matter how high the stakes are.

Casino gambling addictions are so irresistible and overpowering that the player can ruin his life as well as of his family members. The behavior of gamblers sometimes become too addictive and the urge to gamble is often uncontrollable and they cannot stop themselves from gambling. But still there are some measures available which may help you in stopping your gambling problem. With the help of the correct blend of gambling plans, behavior changes and therapies you can stop your urge for gambling.

1. The first and foremost thing you must do is let know and notify all the local casinos in your area about your gambling problem. Usually all the gambling casinos maintains the gambler list. So whenever you will go for gambling they will see to it and guide you to not gamble.

2. There are various programs like Gamblers Anonymous which are specially designed and created for the people who want to overcome their problems of gambling, you can enroll yourself in one such program. These programs help to identify your problems and assist you in stopping your addiction.

3. You can also go for therapy like Cognitive-behavioral therapy for problem gamblers; the therapy is time and again helpful for gamblers who want to overcome gambling. The main focus of the said therapy is on the myths about your gambling problem and how gambling is affecting your life and destroying it. It basically works to change the beliefs of the people and their life style and how to avoid gambling when you have an urge.

4. Another step you can go for is canceling your credit cards, if you don’t have money in your bank accounts and you don’t have any access to money you can stop the urge to gamble. So until you break your obsession, you can give the control of your money in someone else’s hand, a trusted one.

5. Busyness is very important when you are going through such problem that means keep yourself busy for the whole day. Whenever you have leisure time go for your hobbies like playing your favorite sport, outing with your friends etc but not the gambling.

6. Meditation is one of the methods which will help you to focus and concentrate in your life aims rather than wasting your life and money in gambling.

Teenage gambling is becoming more and more of a problem with each passing year. Teenagers can gamble on video games with their friends, gamble online, and engage in poker games with friends. This problem is deepening as more and more teenagers engage in gambling in one form or another.

Studies have shown that gambling in teenagers is on the rise and that it does not seem to be slowing down. The glamorizing of poker games by celebrities on television has had a negative impact on teenagers.

These teens believe that gambling is the road to easy money and huge sums of cash. They believe gambling to be an exciting dreamworld that they want to soon become part of.

Gambling addiction can occur very easily in these teens because of the adrenaline high that happens while engaging in a gambling activity. Studies have also shown that teens can become addicted very fast, and that it is much harder to break the gambling addiction habit when starting at such a young age.

The effects of a teen gambling problem are as follows:

1. Cutting school, and having unexplained absences.
2. Poor grades that become worse and worse
3. Money problems and stealing money from parents.
4. Constantly needing money for poorly explained reasons.
5. Preoccupation with gambling and social isolation, except with gambling friends.
6. Engaging in forms of illegal behavior.
7. Use of drugs and alcohol.
8. Unexplained mood changes.
9. Poor sleep habits and hygiene.

So what do parents do when they suspect that their teenager has a gambling problem or gambling addiction? Because every situation is different, there is no “one size fits all answer”. However, there are a few things that you can do.

1. Insist that your teenager visits a counselor or therapist. A specialist in gambling addiction will be your best bet. Your first session will be known as an intervention.
2. Make sure that your teenager has no access to cash or credit cards and keep your cash and credit cards locked up so your teen has no access to this.
3. You teen will most likely not admit that he or she has a gambling problem or gambling addiction. This does not matter at the beginning, however. You are the parent and you can decide the intervention.
4. Insist that your teenager attend a Gamblers Anonymous or other 12 Step Group. You can attend a Gamanon meeting which is usually next door to the Gamblers Anonymous Meeting.