Online Gambling Negative Effects

• Online Gambling Negative Effects Definition
• Online Gambling Negative Effects Drugs
• Negative Effects Of Online Gambling
• Online Gambling Negative Effects Examples

The impact of problem gambling often spreads further than the loss of money or the mounting debt. A feeling of isolation is very common – with shame and guilt making it difficult to talk about the issue. There may be a tendency to stay away from work, college or school in order to gamble. In addition, a preoccupation with gambling can lead to a lack of interest in maintaining relationships and a lack of motivation to engage in social activities.

The effects of a gambling addiction are often quite clear. A large number of people who engage in compulsive gambling will use credit cards and debit cards to pay casinos or internet gambling organizations. If you engage in problem gambling, you will most likely incur debt, damage your relationships, and lose sight of your goals in life. The effects of gambling When you think of the effects of gambling, certain things spring to mind. Like financial worries, relationship difficulties and other serious issues. But you might not be aware of the emotional effects of gambling, which many people experience no matter how much or how often they bet. It’s bad for the gaming community to turn a blind eye when outsiders point to the negative effects. In fact, back in 2011, a gamer died at an internet cafe after playing for three days straight. A baby died in 2014 because their parents neglected it due to their gaming addiction.

As continuous funds are required to gamble, there may be an increasing reluctance to spend money on items of clothing or necessary household goods. There may also be an unwillingness to pay utility bills, instead choosing to spend the money on gambling. Problem gambling can be progressive in nature and problem gamblers can end up engaging in criminal activity to fund their gambling. This can lead to lifelong consequences with criminal convictions.

Online Gambling Negative Effects Definition

Is gambling affecting your mental health?

• Are you experiencing some or all of the following?
• Having extreme emotions or mood swings?
• Feeling that gambling is the only thing you enjoy, to the exclusion of other things?
• Finding it difficult to sleep?
• Feeling depressed or anxious?
• Having suicidal thoughts?
• Using gambling as a way to deal with other problems or emotions in your life?

Online Gambling Negative Effects Drugs

As well as the more obvious effects that a gambling problem can have on a your financial situation, there can also be a serious impact on your mental health. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, problem gamblers are more likely than others to suffer from low self-esteem, develop stress-related disorders, to become anxious, have poor sleep and appetite, to develop a substance misuse problem and to suffer from depression.

Although a lot of people gamble to escape feelings of depression or other mental health problems, gambling can actually make these conditions worse. One reason that problem gambling can affect mental health is the way people experience ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ when gambling. If you gamble a lot yourself, you may have found the experience of anticipating ‘the big win’ to be very mentally involving and extremely exciting, perhaps better than feelings created by any other activity. You may also have found the devastation of losing to be a massive low, leading to feelings of despair.

This is especially the case in very high-risk forms of gambling, where very large amounts of money are being staked. This increases the potential for the massive ‘high’, but also makes the ‘low’ feel worse when it comes. Feelings of loss and despair following a gambling spree can lead to greater desires to gamble straight away in order to try and get back on a ‘high’. However, by continuing to gamble, any negative feelings only get worse.

Is gambling affecting your relationships?

Having a gambling problem can be very all-consuming, and as well as the effect on the gamblers themselves, it can have a devastating impact on their relationships with other people, their friends and family. This can take various forms, especially the following:

• Arguing more with your partner or family, especially about money, budgeting and debt
• Being preoccupied with gambling and finding it difficult to focus on other things
• Spending less time with people and more time gambling
• Lying to friends and family about losses
• Stealing money from friends and family to gamble with

Negative Effects Of Online Gambling

Instead of spending time with partners and their family, or fulfilling commitments, gamblers may choose to spend their leisure time gambling. This can lead a partner or family member to worry that the gambler does not care about them anymore, or that they are somehow less important. This can lead to emotional distance or tension in the relationship. It is often the case however, that the gambler is so tied up with the gambling behaviour that they are unable to think about anyone else.

There can also be increased arguments over the family budget and finances when there is a gambling problem in the family. Often the gambler is convinced that they will be able to sort the problems out themselves, when in reality they need help to stop gambling and resolve their debt problems in a more realistic way. Broken promises and deceit can mean that partners of gamblers can lose trust in their relationship, especially if the gambler has tried to stop gambling several times but has ended up returning to the behaviour. It’s easy to see how all of these factors can cause stress to a relationship and lead a partner or family member to question the value of it. Sometimes there is also a lot of guilt involved as a partner may wonder if the gambling problem is their fault, or if they have somehow contributed to the problem. Problem gambling in a family can also have an effect on children – the impact of stress within the family unit and potential loss of relationship with a parent can have lasting consequences.

Are you in debt due to gambling?

Are you spending more than you want on gambling or struggling to find the money for bills? Gambling problems and financial issues really go hand-in-hand. A financial crisis is often what brings a person to address their gambling. It’s also not uncommon for partners, friends or family members of problem gamblers to tell us that they did not realise their loved one was a problem gambler until there were serious financial consequences such as a court summons for non-pa yment of debt or repossession action on their home.

Financial problems can really mount up. Bills don’t get paid, debts accumulate. If you have credit cards, you might max them out to pay your bills, or worse, to keep gambling. At this point, payday loans may look like a solution – but their high interest rates and charges are likely to make the situation worse. Business-owners can also find themselves in debt due to using business money to finance their gambling. A common dilemma for someone with a gambling problem is how to get out of debt. For many, the chance to continue gambling in order to win it back and make everything alright again can feel overwhelmingly tempting. It might also feel as though there is no chance of repaying debts accrued through gambling unless you carry on gambling, so you feel completely trapped.

However, think of it another way. If you are struggling to control your urge to gamble, a win will probably not clear your debts, as you won’t be able to stop gambling to pay them off. The temptation to repeat the thrill of the win would be high. A phrase we often hear is ‘I cannot win because I cannot stop’. In the end, losing more money and making the situation worse is inevitable. Also, using more gambling as a way of solving a debt caused by gambling in the first place is unlikely ever to be effective. It may feel like clearing your debts gradually will take longer, but in reality, continuing to gamble will only make things worse in the long run and may leave you with a far greater amount of debt.

The idea of owning up to your debt problems can be frightening, and you’d rather people didn’t know. Taking control of your debt problems and looking for another way of solving the issue can however be very empowering. You’ll be able to relax and feel that those things are being taken care of, leaving you to address other issues that your gambling has created, and think about stopping gambling altogether. The effects of problem gambling on your life can be very serious from a financial point of view. However, the impacts of problem gambling should not be viewed in purely financial terms. Once gambling becomes a problem the negative impacts on your life can cost you more than money.

The isolation of the problem gambler

Many gamblers report that they get a sense of ‘community’ from the environment they gamble in – for example the betting shop, or people they talk to online. Problem gamblers can lose interest in maintaining real personal relationships as their preoccupation with gambling intensifies and they can suffer from social isolation. Ordinary life sometimes doesn’t hold the same appeal as the gambling ‘high’. Arguments, strained relationships, failure to meet responsibilities, alienation, separation, divorce, physical or mental abuse can all be a feature of the life of a problem gambler.

Often a problem gambler can isolate themselves due to feeling guilt or shame, or because they have borrowed or stolen money from people in their life to fund their gambling. It can feel as though there is no way back into the real world. There can also be a declining interest in hobbies as gambling can dominate thinking. Problem gamblers often say that they are still thinking about gambling, even when they are not actually gambling. Some have even referred to dreaming about gambling in their sleep, such is their pre-occupation with the next bet. Problem gamblers also report issues maintaining their working life or career, due to mental preoccupation with the gambling world.

The online casino industry is growing rapidly. There are tons of online casinos available for punters to wager at. All of these casinos have very alluring offers aimed to entice gamblers to sign up and become a customer. While gambling is seen as a relaxing activity, it can have detrimental effects on society.

What exactly are these negative impacts? In this article we pinpoint what they are, and how they can ultimately cripple societies.

#1: Money Laundering

Money laundering is a criminal activity where profits from illegal activities are transferred into supposedly ‘legal assets’. While security is tight, both at online and offline casinos, there is no way in knowing what the true source of the money is that players deposit into their accounts. This makes gambling at online casino susceptible to money launderers and attracting criminal activity.

#2: Rigged Games

While there are loads of reputable online casinos out there, there are also some that aren’t. The casino industry is very lucrative and illegal casino operators will stop at nothing to ensure they don’t lose too much or lose money at all. The reputable online casinos make use of RNGs (Random Number Generators) to ensure games aren’t rigged. Rigged games can lead to even more devastation to those gambling.

#3: Problem Gambling

Frequenting online casinos can lead to addiction, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Not only can gambling addiction lead to divorce, but it can also lead to a life of crime. Those who are desperate to finance their addiction might even resort to stealing money from friends or even from other members of the community. Problem gambling can be a difficult issue for both the gambler and the community.

Online Gambling Negative Effects Examples

#4: Computer Hacking

Computer hacking is not only dangerous in general, but it is even more so for those with loads of online casino accounts. Hackers will stop at nothing until they get what they want. And if they are out to get your casino account’s money, they’ll get it. Hackers can be drawn to hacking into online casinos as huge amounts are being deposited and withdrawn from their accounts on a daily basis.

#5: Broken Families

Online casinos, as we’ve mentioned, can lead to problem gambling. This can in turn lead to divorce and broken families. The result of this is children being torn from mothers or fathers, and their futures may even look bleak as this could have a negative impact on how they exceed in school. This leads to more heartbreak and devastation for parents, loved ones and communities who are affected by it.

As you can see there are a lot of negative impacts of online casinos on society as a whole. While it does not mean to say that the industry itself is evil or bad, it is important to be aware of how it can impact our communities.