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Gambling addiction or Problem gambling (ludomania) is an urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop and is a type of impulse-control disorder which disrupts your life. Compulsive gamblers can’t control the impulse to gamble, even when they know their gambling is hurting themselves or their loved ones. Gambling is all they can think about and all they want to do no matter the consequences are. Compulsive gamblers keep gambling whether they’re up or down, broke or full of money, happy or depressed. That is a chronic and progressive mental illness. Gambling addiction is a progressive disease. In most people, it begins slowly and grows until the victim's life becomes progressively unmanageable. As repeated efforts to gain control over the addiction fail, life for the compulsive gambler begins to fall apart. All compulsive gamblers can stop gambling... for a while. But most people need professional help. If you’re preoccupied with gambling, spending more and more time and money on it, chasing losses, or gambling despite serious consequences, you have a gambling problem. Problem gambling can harm your relationships; interfere with responsibilities at home and work, and lead to financial catastrophe. You may even do things you never thought you would, like stealing to get money to gamble or pay your gambling debts. You may think you can’t stop, but problem gambling and gambling addiction are treatable. If you’re ready to admit you have a problem and seek help, you can overcome your gambling problem and regain control of your life.

Understanding gambling addiction and problem gambling

Pathological gamblers are addicted to action, not money. Many pathological gamblers will gamble to lose in the desperation phase of their addiction, because it is the action they seek, not the money. For a gambler, being in action is similar to being high on cocaine for the person addicted to cocaine. Both describe their...