Gambling
Another Addiction Tragedy
By Werner Krueger
Deutsch Presse Agentur
Happiness for a compulsive gambler is pushing plastic chips onto the roulette board or feeding a one-armed bandit with coins. Only then does the fever subside. But relief seldom lasts long and the obsessive behavior usually marks the start of a debilitating addiction.
"Once people start gambling, they quickly lose control over their behavior. They no longer react rationally but feel an irresistible drive to keep on playing," said psychologist Gerhard Meyer of Bremem, Germany. Meyer (and Meinolf Bachmann) collected testimony from compulsive gamblers, some of whom risked their jobs, homes and family to raise money for another stake at the gambling tables.
"I handed in my notice because I needed money," one gambler told. "I was desperate to go out gambling and they wouldn't give me an advance, so I said, 'Right, I'm leaving,' and stayed away from work for two days. They finally told me to come and collect my money, and I went down to the amusement arcade with 450 marks ($263) to play six one-armed bandits. Two hours later, the money was gone. That was when I thought to myself, 'You've blown all your money and you've got no job'."
"The dream of getting lucky frequently ends in dependence and addiction," said the authors, who paint a depressing picture of the compulsive gambler's lot.
Bachmann, who works at a clinic in Guetersloh, Germany, said some gamblers resort to crime in order to fuel their obsession. He sees compulsive gambling as a "truly mass phenomenon." One survey shows that the gambling industry ranks 13th in the list of top earning European industrial sectors, well ahead of the computer industry and shipbuilding.
Victims tell of the feelings of nervousness and irritability that plague them until they give way to the urge to gamble. "A feeling of calm ensues as soon as the first coin is fed into the slot or the first jeton (chip) placed on the roulette table." Occasional visits to the gambling tables become a regular pastime. The willingness to take risks increases regardless of whether the gambler wins or loses. Both authors believe their task lies in helping pathological gamblers recognize that they're ill an do something about it.
"In our society compulsive gambling is recognized as an illness," stresses Bachmann. Unfortunately, treatment is still in the experimental stage with no guarantee of success.
The two psychologists believe tougher restrictions on licensing games of chance may be an answer. They think that governments should consider reducing advertising for lotteries and other forms of potentially addictive gambling.