Colm Fitzpatrick
Colm Fitzpatrick explores whether gambling is worth the risk
Although many people dream of becoming rich overnight, trying to fulfil this fantasy through gambling might be an ironically unlucky decision.
Gambling presents itself in many forms in the world today from the weekly lottery player who hopes they can defy all statistical odds, to the online poker player who uses experience, risk and maths to make the best bet. Although gambling can, like any hobby, be a fun, safe and stimulating outlet, it can also become an addictive channel which creates dependency and destructive tendencies.
Gambling addiction is now a global phenomenon given the sheer availability of betting shops, casinos, and internet access – Ireland is not excluded from this reality. Indeed, a new gambling control bill is currently being discussed in the Dáil to ensure effective regulation and protection of gambling consumers. The legislation recognises that gambling can lead individuals into “dark places” with risks to their liberty and health. But is gambling addiction a small problem, or an issue affecting thousands of Irish people?
According to Peter Kelly, a Training Officer on addiction and pathological gambling at Merchant’s Quay Ireland, gambling addiction is “kind of a big problem”.
“There are about 40,000 problem gamblers in Ireland and they’re mostly single men, and they’re mostly under 35. That’s a lot,” he says, referencing a piece of research entitled ‘Playing Social Roulette: The Impact of Gambling on Individuals and Society in Ireland’. Notably, adolescent gambling is two to three times more prevalent than for adults, and this is a direct result of online gambling popular today.
“The thing about online gambling, in some ways which makes it more pernicious, if I can put it that way is that it’s much easier. I mean, if I have to go down to a bricks and mortar gambling establishment, I may have some internal controls between the time I leave my house and by the time I get there.
“Whereas, if you’re gambling online, of course, it’s much easier to do that because all you have to do is get your laptop and open it up, and push your bet with your finger. So it’s much easier to do it,” Peter explains noting that this form of gambling is particularly dangerous as there is no “physical materiality of money” being exchanged, but rather virtual representations of it.
Although there are no exact figures it is estimated that Irish people gamble approximately €5 billion per year which is €14 million per day and €10,000 per minute. Those who contribute to this figure can be segmented into four specific, although sometimes overlapping categories.
As Peter explains, there are four types of gamblers: social, problem, pathological, and professional, each of which have different implications.
“Your social gambler is somebody who gambles but they are people who are able to limit the amount that they spend on gambling. In other words, they gamble without any compulsion to gamble. So that would mostly be people who maybe do the lottery, or people who have a bet on the football, or they go to bingo,” Peter says.
This is not an inconsequential number: almost 44% of the Irish population play the National Lottery regularly, spending €772 million in 2010, and around 12% of Irish adults bet with a bookmaker weekly. The difference, however, between social gambling and problem gambling is that the latter becomes an impulsive activity with no desire to stop.
“An awful lot of what you see in problem gambling would be a kind of binge gambling where the gambler gambles for a period of time, he stops for a while and then resumes gambling again. It’s a kind of a binge gambling, they spend more money on it, they take riskier bets at a greater frequency,” Peter says.
“But the thing to keep in mind is that the difference between social gambling and problem gambling is that social gambling is planned and conducted in a framework of personal affordability, whereas in problem gambling what you see is that gambling is experienced as a compulsive activity.”
The other two categories, pathological and professional gambling, are terms sometimes used interchangeably but there are key differences.
“Basically pathological gambling would be people who experience a perceived inability to stop. So there’s a kind of a perception that you can’t stop – a perceived lack of control to stop gambling. And often what you see in pathological gambling is people gambling alone, gambling in secret, you get a lot of that going around. And also the motivation for gambling changes so initially for the thrill of the big win and that might change over time to gambling as a way of numbing out reality as it were,” Peter says.
Professional gamblers on the other hand may be defined as “gamblers who gamble other people’s money”. This would include professional poker players, those involved in the stock market or investors who gamble with financial instruments. Generally these people have high financial income and strong financial backing.
Moreover, although young men are predominantly predisposed to gambling, many women are also susceptible to addiction. Men usually fall into in the category of ‘action gambler’ and they gamble for the thrill of the risk. This means they will, for example, play numerous slot machines simultaneously, gamble online and move from slower to much faster paced games.
Women are generally placed in the ‘escape gambling’ category, as they gamble to numb themselves or escape from difficult situations. Usually escape gamblers are actually afraid to stop gambling because they have no confidence they will be able to endure the pain they fear will come when they stop medicating themselves with their drug of choice, gambling.
These different types of gambling highlight that addiction does not discriminate on the basis of age or gender, and that anyone can become susceptible. So what are the signs of addiction?
One clear and obvious sign of gambling addiction is the inability to stop doing it. Once an addict starts playing, they will find it incredibly difficult to control their impulses and keep playing until they lose all of their money. Even after a win, they will still feel compelled to continue. This can exacerbate when you begin spending money that you don’t have such as finances to pay bills, credit cards, or things for your children.
Symptoms
In even more serious circumstances, addicts will borrow, sell or steal in order to keep up with their habit. Other less extreme symptoms are gambling in secret or lying about how much you gamble, as well as neglecting to listen or take into account concerns of family or friends who have recognised addiction patterns.
As Peter points out, there are “biological and psychological aspects” to addiction, such as a surge of serotonin or dopamine while playing, which will inevitably affect you and your behaviour around others. He explains that addiction “puts major stress on families”, and compromises personal well-being as indicated by the strong link between gambling and suicide.
For him, it’s important that gamblers firstly recognise the impact that gambling can have, and to implement structures or seek help if it becomes a problem. To reduce playing, a harm minimisation approach may work where the gamblers can check in on themselves before they start; limits are set on spending; and drinking is prohibited while playing. Others prefer a ‘cold-turkey’ approach where all forms of gambling cease immediately.
“Ultimately it’s about trying to get people to put limits on your relationship to it and to get a bit of support around it – so if it’s very severe maybe go and speak to someone about it.”
For more information about gambling addiction, see: https://mqi.ie/
