Problem gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives. Not only the life of the individual with the gambling problem, but the lives of the loved ones and associates of the problem gambler. If you lose more money than you can afford to lose, if you gamble in secret or lie about your gambling or if you spend time thinking about gambling instead of your family or work responsibilities, you may be a problem gambler.
Time Frame
There is nothing wrong with going to the casino for a planned session of gambling. Perhaps you are going to play for an hour or two. Perhaps you are going to take a vacation to Las Vegas. If these are planned events and you have set money aside for gambling and you do not go over the allotted time or money, you do not have a problem. However, if your one-hour gambling session turned into a six-hour session in which your family, work or friends did not know where you were, you have a gambling problem.
Financial Losses
You may have gone to the casino or race track with $200 to gamble in a session. If you gambled the money and lost, got in your car and went home, you did what you planned to do. However, if you gamble that money, take out your ATM card, withdraw another $1,000 and lose that, you have a gambling problem. Set a limit every time you go into the casino and do not go over that amount.
Lying about Gambling
Perhaps you have a few hours of freedom between your next work appointment or the time you are going to meet your spouse for an evening out. Instead of going home, you decide to go to the casino. But instead of making that phone call and saying what you will be doing, you lie and say you are working or visiting a friend. If you are not truthful about your gambling activity, you have a problem.
Depression
The thought of gambling dominates your daily existence. You look for opportunities to go to the racetrack, casino or gamble online whenever you can. You gamble frequently and the losses are mounting. After each gambling session, you grow more and more depressed and angry with yourself. You begin to despise your activity and yourself as your depression grows stronger. If you get depressed after gambling, you have a gambling problem.
Financial Problems
You may be gambling so frequently that you can no longer take care of your financial obligations. Your bills are late or unpaid. You make up excuses to your creditors why your bills are unpaid. You become so convincing that you almost believe them yourself. Your web of lies grows worse and worse with each passing day and so do your financial problems. In this case, you have a gambling problem
