by Daniella Janda

October 15, 2018

What Is Gambling?

Gambling is whenever a person takes the chance of losing money or belongings, and when winning or losing is decided mostly by chance.  (https://www.begambleaware.org/understanding-gambling/)

Gambling has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last decade and is increasingly popular hobby. While gambling was illegal specifically in the early 1900’s (Rose, Gambling and The Law: Pivotal Dates; https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gamble/etc/cron.html) , its growth is likely to continue. There are different reasons why people choose to gamble. Individuals may be gambling to win money, to socialize, for excitement or to pass time.

What are the impacts of gambling problems on families?

Some of the impacts caused by gambling problems in the family are:  affecting the functioning of a family and intimate relationships, it can also affect intimate partners, as well as other family members including children, parents, siblings and grandparents, it can also result to impaired family relationships, emotional problems and financial difficulties.

In recent studies it is shown that there is consistent evidence of an association between gambling problems and family violence. A study conducted by Jackson stated that parents, current and ex-partners were most likely to be both perpetrators and victims of family violence. Of the participants who were interviewed in depth, most reported that problematic gambling generally preceded the family violence.  (http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/problem-gambling-and-family-violence-strongly-linked-new-study)

Meaning gambling can lead to something more than just losing stuff and relationships but it can also lead one to hurting the people around them.