Gambiling

12 Pages 2936 Words

tor of The Council on Compulsive Gambling remembers when betting was an uncontrollable force in his life. He states, “I used to have sex with my with the radio on under the pillow, listening to the ball games I was betting on.” The low point came when his wife has a miscarriage and Wexler says he “prayed all the way to the hospital that she would die because it would solve all my problems” (Horn 35). He would then be able to collect the insurance to pay his gambling debts. Compulsive gamblers have the need to win, no matter what the price is. With them, there is no satisfaction.
Twenty years ago, commercial gambling casinos were prohibited in every state except Nevada and only 13 states had lotteries. Now thirty-seven states have lotteries and most casinos are within a day’s drive for most people. Everyone encounters some form of gambling almost every day to their life. When the word gambling arises, most people automatically thin Las Vegas, casinos, or gambling boats. However there are several other forms of games that are available as close as our backdoor, including Internet gambling, lottery tickets, sports betting, racetracks, and even bingo (Knickerbocker 1).
Gambling plays a role in most Americans’ leisure activities, with sixty-eight percent reporting they have gambled some way in the past year. The serious problem is that compulsive gambling affects people of all ages, especially teenagers and senior citizens. Studies from Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly, show that more than one-third of high school and college students polled have gambled before they were age 11, and by age 15, more than 80 percent had placed wagers. Almost 80 percent of problem adult gamblers started before they were 14, with 4 to 6 percent of high school and college students diagnosed as compulsive gamblers (Prob. Gambling effects all ages 2). Gambling counselors say that 7 percent of their caseload consists of adolescents (Path...