The need to continue gambling despite making efforts to cut down or quit is the definition of gambling addiction. An addiction to gambling can have negative repercussions on a person’s personal and professional life, including their finances and relationships, as well as their security, employment, and place of residence. Studies have shown that gambling addicts’ dopamine levels increase when they are contemplating gambling. A person who is addicted to gambling will not be able to stop gambling, even when they are in financial ruin, just like a person who is addicted to drugs and will do anything to get their next fix.
Gamblers, like other addicts, will experience many of the same symptoms as drug addicts, including tolerance, withdrawal, loss of control, lying, and jeopardising their relationships. Gambling addiction, like any other addiction, is a disease, not a choice. Currently there are many ways for a gambling addict to seek help: Gamblers Anonymous (“GA”, related to Alcoholics Anonymous) is a helpful option for many gambling addicts. Signing up to a method which affectively prohibits the individual from going into a online casino can also be helpful, as the person can be not able to continue with their dependency. There are also many centers that help those struggling with a gambling addiction, and many of their pamphlets can be found in casinos, as well as online casinos. There has not been much research into an online gambling addiction, but most studies show that online gambling addiction comes second to going into a casino.
When someone with a gambling addiction walks into a casino, their dopamine levels begin to spike before they have even sat down at a table. Banning the ISPs of online gaming websites will stop the gambling addict from feeding their addiction from home or work. Gambling addiction has become taken more seriously as more and more people fall into an addiction to gambling. There is plenty of help available for the addict that wants to stop.