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Gambling is not entertainment.
My name is Paul, and I am a compulsive gambler. It has been 40 days since my last bet.
Forty days ago I didn't realize I was a compulsive gambler. However, when I was confronted by my employer for embezzling,
it finally hit me that I am and will always be a compulsive gambler.
I am currently attending and will attend (for
as long as I am allowed) Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
I have lost a great carrer... I am in the process of losing everything that I have worked for; with the exception of
my wife and two children.
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My father hasn't spoken to me since this all occurred,
and my older sister will do anything to help my wife and children. but she wants nothing to do with me. I cannot blame her.
If someone had told me 27 years ago when I made my first wager that when I was 39 years old, I would lose everything
and be in place where there are no freedoms, I would have told them that they were crazy because I am an intelligent person
and I can control my gambling.
The fact is that gambling took over my life and ruined it, and it ruined the lives
of my family.
It is an insidious addiction. You do things that no
rational person would do. You don't think of the consequences, and I am here to tell anyone who will listen that there are
serious consequences for all of my horrible actions.
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Gambling,
is it really that bad?
Paul is hardly alone. For more than ten
million americans, gambling is a serious problem. For three million, the compulsion is so powerful that health professional
label it pathological gambling, a condition as serious as substance abuse, depression, and antisocial behaviors.
Problem
gamblers are more likely to abuse alcohol, to be absent from work, and to commit fraud or embezzlement. Unfortunately, defenders
of legal gambling claim that it represents just another risk in the sense that "all of life is a gamble".
They argue
that, just as the rest of life is filled with uncertainties (walking across the street, investing in the stock market, climbing
on a airplane), playing the slot machines or betting on a sports team is another way of recognizing the randomness of things
and hoping for the best.
Gambling is not a game.
Although most majors sports have gambling
connections, gambling is not a game. It is serious business with millions of supporters and powerful lobbysts.
The
statistcs are shocking. It is estimated that americans spend as much as $550 billion a year on legalized gambling. On state-sanctioned
lotteries. people spend about $88 million per day.
By 2000 internet gambling produced an estimated $2.2 billion in
worldwide revenues, compared to the estimated $300 million in 1997. According to an article in the ABA journal. online betting
could reach $100 billion a year by 2006.
I personally oppose gambling for many reasons. It's
clearly not an activity. Many people get hurt, and the lure of easy fortune affects the poor disproportionately. Unfortunately,
as with alcohol and tobacco, the evidence of its harm is ignored because of the enormous profit it generates.
Moreover,
gambling operates of the basics of deceit, it downplays the minuscule chance of winning. Casinos don't have clocks or windows,
thus hiding the passage of time, and many suspect that machines may be programmed for "near misses" to entice the user.
To
get help for yourself or someone you know, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 800.522.4700, or visit their website
at http://www.ncpgambling.org many other resources have web sites, and local government offices can usually refer you to qualified
counselors.
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