Gambling is risking something of value, often money or material goods, on an activity primarily based on chance in the hopes of winning a prize. Gambling is a common leisure time activity in many countries and has significant social and economic impacts on the gambler, his/her significant others, and society at large. While some gamblers are able to control their gambling behaviors, a small group of people become excessively involved and experience serious negative personal, family, work, and financial consequences.
The article reviews the rationale for viewing pathological gambling as an addictive disorder and describes the relationship between gambling behavior and health. It discusses screening strategies for problem and pathological gambling and outlines treatment options. It also describes the growing role of assessing patients’ gambling behaviors within primary care settings and the challenges associated with doing so.
Despite the vast differences in games, most forms of gambling share similar psychological processes and events. They all involve a decision, the risk of losing something of value, and a prize, although some games are more skill-based than others. A few key elements distinguish the various types of gambling.
The main challenges of analyzing the impact of gambling lie in its multidimensionality. The three classes of impacts (financial, labor and health, and well-being) manifest on the personal, interpersonal, and community/societal levels. The monetary dimension of these impacts is easy to quantify, but the non-monetary aspects of the gambling behavior are more difficult to measure and can be difficult to capture in studies.