Gambling is playing a game with the aim of winning a prize while risking a loss. It can involve wagering money on a sporting event, a lottery ticket or a scratchcard.

Some people gamble for pleasure and to relax, while others do it to socialize or alleviate stress. Regardless of the reason, gambling triggers feelings of euphoria linked to the brain’s reward system.

Mental health professionals use criteria to identify gambling disorder, a condition that can be a sign of other disorders. Most people who suffer from this condition need treatment to stop or control their gambling behaviors.

Addiction

Gambling can become an addiction if it begins to interfere with a person’s work or family life, is out of control, and requires repeated intervention and management. It can also lead to serious financial problems, including debts and homelessness.

Problem Gambling

When someone engages in gambling with an increasing amount of money over a prolonged period of time, it can be a sign of a psychiatric problem called gambling disorder. This condition usually starts in adolescence or later in adulthood and can be treated with different types of therapy.

Symptoms include repeated attempts to control or cut back on the amount of money spent on gambling, and feeling restless or irritable when trying to quit. It may also include delusions about the odds of winning and lying to conceal the extent of one’s involvement in gambling.

The impacts of gambling can be analyzed using a conceptual model that includes benefits and costs on a personal, interpersonal and societal level. The model divides costs into financial, labor and health, and well-being classes. Benefits are categorized on the personal, interpersonal, and societal levels and are manifested in three temporal levels: general impacts, problem gambling impacts, and long-term impacts of gambling.