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What are the Different Stages of Gambling Addiction?

Gambling is one of the most popular pastimes all over the world. People who have attained the age of being a legal adult are qualified to take part in gambling activities of their choice. Although a lot of gambling activities are legally accepted and regulated, many other forms of gambling are still illegal. One must be aware of these things before stepping into the realm of gambling. Apart from the serious stuff, gambling is an interesting activity which can be quite rewarding if done right.

은꼴, 야짤 Gambling requires betting a certain amount of money or anything that holds some monetary value on the outcome of a game. If the odds are in your favor, you are most likely to win the bet. Gambling outcomes are dependent on luck or chances of you winning, which cannot be predicted or calculated accurately. In some gambling events, the outcome depends upon the skill of the players, like in sports betting. Once you get the hang of it, gambling can be a fun activity. We often tend to indulge in fun activities in our free time, but when these habits get out of control it becomes a problem for the person.

Dr. R. L. Custer was an American psychiatrist, who was the chief of treatment services of mental health and behavioral science service of the US Veterans Administration. He is considered to be the first to identify gambling addiction and seen as the pioneer for treating gambling addiction. He established the first treatment center for compulsive gamblers in Ohio. He identified pathological gambling as a treatable illness in the 1970s. Due to his efforts, pathological gambling was listed as a psychiatric disorder in 1980.

Being the first to recognize this problem, he identified the stages in which the gambling addiction progresses. The three phases are: winning phase, losing phase, and desperation phase.

Winning Phase

This is the stage where the gambler has had wins in multiple gambling games which leaves them with unusually high hopes of winning in the future. They are left with an unreasonable optimism that they will keep on winning even in future games. Due to frequent wins at gambling, they start loving it with the belief that they will never run out of luck and only win. They keep bidding more and more and are quite confident.

Losing Phase

Inevitably, the gambler loses some or most of his bets in the coming time. They get addicted to gambling and start isolating themselves from their family. The losses do not sit well with the gambler and they start bidding more and more money by borrowing it from friends and family or through illegal means. Their debts keep piling on, thereby affecting their lives severely. They continue gambling with the hope of starting a winning streak again.

Desperation Phase

This phase occurs when the gambler starts indulging in gambling more and more and starts alienating their family and friends. They are so engrossed in gambling that nothing else matters to them anymore and they start blaming the people around them for their own problems. Such people are prone to substance abuse.