Gambling is the staking of something of value on an uncertain event with awareness of the risk and in the hope of gaining more than was invested. It is a form of risk taking and can range from the buying of lottery tickets to the sophisticated casino gambling of the wealthy. It can also include activities such as sports betting, fantasy leagues, scratch tickets, online poker, DIY investing and more. A key aspect of gambling is the weighing of risk and expected return against current available resources, similar to the way professional gamblers weigh odds and other factors to determine which bets to make.
Although the majority of people gamble responsibly, a small percentage of individuals develop serious problems that can have significant and often long term consequences. These issues can impact a person’s mental and physical health, relationships with family and friends, performance at work or school, financial situation and even result in legal action, bankruptcy and homelessness. Many organisations offer support, assistance and counselling for people experiencing harm from gambling.
The terminology surrounding gambling is complex. Research scientists, psychiatrists and other treatment care clinicians have different perspectives on what gambling disorder is. In addition, the terms used to describe the condition have changed over time based on a variety of factors, including research evidence, treatment approaches and a person’s specific circumstances. This nomenclature is a major challenge for the field because it can lead to confusion and miscommunications.
For some individuals, gambling can be an enjoyable pastime that helps them to socialize with their peers. Moreover, the media portrays gambling as fun, glamorous and exciting. For others, it can be a way to avoid thinking about their financial worries or other issues in their lives. They may view gambling as an activity where they can try out a new strategy and see if it works.
While it is difficult to measure the true cost of gambling, studies have shown that the social costs and benefits are not equal and are often overlooked. The economic literature typically focuses on monetary effects, but this is a limited perspective. In contrast, the health and social science literature has used disability weights to measure intangible and non-monetary social impacts of gambling.
The most common method for measuring the social costs and benefits of gambling is by analyzing the effects at three levels: personal, interpersonal, and community/societal. Financial impacts include changes in financial situations (income, expenditures, and savings) as well as the effects of gambling on other industries and infrastructure costs or value. Labor impacts include changes in employment and productivity, absenteeism, and reductions in performance. Finally, societal/community impacts are those that aggregate societal real wealth and cause harm to one or more members of society while benefiting no one. This includes the societal costs of crime, such as increased homicide rates associated with casinos. These are called externalities. However, the most important externalities are those that affect a person’s quality of life.
