Compulsive Gambling and It’s Cost to the Economy :: essays research papers

Compulsive Gambling and Its Cost to the EconomyMore than 5 million Americans are pathological, compulsive and problem adventurers, and another 15 million are at risk of becoming just like them. A common definition of problem gambling is a progressive roughness characterized by a continuous or periodic loss of control over gambling and irrational thinking and behavior despite the consequences. When gambling interferes with all(prenominal) ones life, it can be categorize as an addiction or disease, just like alcohol and drug addiction is categorize as a disease. A study conducted for the National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that 20 million American get hold of or could break up gambling problems. Also they have estimated those 1.8 million American adults as well as up to 1.1 million American adolescents age 12 through 17 engage in severe pathological gambling each year. As legalize gambling has become more than common in the United States problems have sprung up as we ll. That negative influence is becoming more apparent as gambling is more widely available. It is becoming increasingly easy to gamble in the United States particularly in the last 10 years, and problems with gambling are some(prenominal) more common now than they ever were. Studies show that for every dollar gambling produces for a regional economy, three dollars are lost because of the economic and social cost of gambling. The study has also said that if the government legalizes more gambling, taxpayers will lose money, whether they gamble or not. The gambling industry believes it is just selling an innocent form of family entertainment, but they dont mention how much the players lose or how gambling encourages addictive behavior or the enormous costs it creates for the rest of society. It has been said that, gamblers with high counts of gambling symptoms will have higher rates of problem. There many consequences associated with compulsive, pathological and problem gamblers. Exa mples of such consequences include job and financial problems, divorce, poor health, and criminal involvement. These addictions are the lifeblood of the gambling industry, said an economist from the University of Illinois by name Earl Grinols.