Did you know that of all the addictions in the world, gambling addiction has the highest suicide rate? According to a study, gambling addicts account for approximately 5% of all suicides worldwide. This means that one in 20 people who commit suicide was addicted to gambling. This alone should set off all the alarm bells: While gambling addiction may seem relatively harmless at first glance compared to drug and alcohol addiction, it drives people suffering from this particular addiction to suicide about three times more often than non-gamblers.
Admittedly, gambling addiction at non GamStop bookmakers on gamblingpro.pro is a very broad topic. Typical gambling addicts are addicted to slot machines and squander all their money, often even borrowed money (according to the link above, 12% of all gambling addicts reported spending more than $5,000 on gambling in a single day, with 70% of these individuals having previously borrowed this money), in casinos. Sports betting and the associated widespread betting shops are also included.
Just as with slot machines, there are certain legal requirements for sports betting that operators must implement. For example, hourly and daily limits. However, just as a player can circumvent such limits in a casino by playing multiple machines at the same time, a player can visit multiple betting shops or open an account with multiple online providers. "Responsible Gaming" is an honorable approach, but in practice, the gambling addict is completely on his own. This means that if a player wants to place bets, lax and opaque regulations can practically prevent them from doing so.
This makes it all the more important that you approach the topic of sports betting with a clear head. Before you start gambling, be absolutely clear that you can become addicted to it. You should definitely stay away from it if you know you have a predisposition to addiction. Most gambling addicts would willingly turn back the clock and tear up their very first betting slip without hesitation to avoid ever becoming addicted. In the following guide, we would like to inform you about how gambling addiction develops and also offer you a few tips on how to help gambling addicts.
How Gambling Addiction Develops at Non GamStop Bookmakers?
Gambling addiction is officially recognized as a disease and has its own ICD code (F63). It is characterized by those affected spending several hours a day gambling in front of slot machines, in a casino, or at a betting shop—often on Big Bass bonanza slot sites. Thus, this type of addiction is not only almost always accompanied by horrendous financial losses, but also has social consequences. Gamblers often lose their friends or even their families, especially since we already mentioned at the beginning that many sufferers borrow money to gamble, which almost always leads to falling out.
According to the clinical picture, gambling addiction is classified as a behavioral addiction. The addict loses control over their behavior or actions and feels a strong inner compulsion that forces them to gamble again and again. Psychologists believe that a possible cause of gambling addiction can lie in traumatic childhood events, such as experiences of psychological or physical violence, the loss of a parent, or addiction problems within the family. However, life crises can also trigger gambling addiction, such as the loss of a job, a serious accident, a serious illness, or financial hardship.
Because in traditional gambling, winning or losing is not determined by skill, but often solely by luck or chance, gambling is often seen as a kind of quick way out of financial distress. The consequences, however, are almost always ever greater debts, since players who gamble with (economic) pressure to win practically always play with money they don't have. This money can be borrowed, but after losing a job, for example, they can also "gamble away" basic state benefits right on the first day of the month, which can then lead to drastic social decline and even homelessness. It is not uncommon for gambling addicts with access to (other people's) financial resources to also embezzle funds. In the event of a loss, which is almost inevitable with slot machine games, such a thing is discovered very quickly, which in turn can lead to long prison sentences.
Please note that even with sports betting, approximately 95% of all players incur monthly losses. Only 5% of all players, who, however, must play 100% seriously and cannot afford any mistakes (see this guide on the topic of "Systematically Making Money with Sports Betting"), actually win money with sports betting, which can also trigger gambling addiction. However, these winnings are always manageable with serious play and represent a maximum of 20% of the stake.
Symptoms & Side Effects of Gambling Addiction
People who suffer from gambling addiction usually also have other diagnosable disorders. For example, a personality disorder, depression, or alcohol and/or drug addiction. According to studies, more than 50% of all gambling addicts also have an alcohol addiction. One possible reason for this is that alcohol is offered at very low prices in casinos, arcades, and sometimes even betting shops. In some casinos, a small beer costs as little as 50 cents.
Gambling addiction develops very gradually and over several years. While gambling (or betting) is purely for pleasure and on a manageable scale in the first few months and possibly even years, with money that has been put aside, a pathological addiction will eventually develop – unbeknownst to the gambler. The gambler increasingly loses control, but only experiences the loss of control himself long afterward. While the inner compulsion may be clearly felt from time to time, the accompanying alcohol addiction (or a potential mental disorder, which is often a side effect of gambling addiction) often clouds this perception, so it takes a long time before the addict realizes that they need help.
Before realizing this, however, a gambling addict almost always reaches a stage of despair in which neither the daily duration of gambling nor the financial investment are bound by common sense. This stage is often accompanied by the loss of a partner and/or job. It is not uncommon for everything to be lost during this phase, which starts a dangerous vicious circle: the gambler believes that only continuing to gamble and the associated large win can free them from these naturally accumulating debts. This false belief turns the previously hidden compulsion to gamble into an openly lived compulsion, which also manifests itself physically in increasing states of anxiety—despite the existence of Responsible gambling policies intended to prevent such escalation.