Do you feel lucky? Do you? Almost everyone’s gambled at some point in his life, laying down money on everything from lottery tickets to Vegas poker tables. The thrill of chasing that elusive jackpot has turned gambling into a multi-billion-dollar industry, but there’s a personal risk that comes with every wager. With nearly 500 casinos currently open for business in the U.S. has legalized gambling gone too far?
When exploitive gambling appears in a community, it brings a wave of addiction. In a mature commercial or government-sponsored gambling market, compulsive gambling typically seizes the lives of 1.5% to 2.5% of the adult population. That amounts to three to five times the number of people suffering from cancer.
“Gambling is an addictive behavior, make no mistake about it . . . Gambling has all the properties of a psychoactive substance, and again, the reason is that it changes the neurochemistry of the brain.”
The American Psychiatric Association says between 1% and 3% of the U.S. population is addicted to gambling, depending on location and demographics. Youth have even higher addiction rates, between 4% and 8%.
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