A massive problem worldwide in individuals involves gambling. A problem with gambling to a dangerous and psychological level can be known by many names such as a pathological gambling, gambling disorder, or simply as a gambling addiction. Gambling in and of itself has had a long history, as it dates far back to the ancient world in a variety of different cultures. The psychological problems with gambling were recognized in the late 1900's and classified as a disorder due to the surge of gamblers in that time. Nowadays, the ease of access for gamblers due to mobile gambling and cryptocurrency has lead to the trillion dollar industry it is today (Lambert 2022). The issue is in a category of behavioral addictions, which have deep neurological routes that can be traced back to and provide insight on addictive mechanisms, especially in drug-free environments. This is important not only because it can resolve gambling addiction but, due to its similarities to substance abuse, can also be used in progressing research in that regard (Clark et al. 2013).
The problem comes from the fact that the problem is difficult if not impossible to control on a larger scale. The typical response to something so clearly bad is to ban it altogether. However, what may look like an act of good may actually have an adverse effect. "Responsible gambling" is a concept which works to correct and help those who struggle with gambling, but has inversely raised gambling globally (Chóliz 2018). In spite of this, efforts to help those struggling with this affliction and prevent others from suffering from it are being worked on.
Chóliz, M. "Ethical Gambling: A Necessary New Point of View of Gambling in Public Health Policies". Front Public Health 2018 6 (12). DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00012.
Clark, Luke; Averbeck, Bruno; Payer, Doris; Sescousse, Guillaume; Winstanley, Catharine A.; Xue, Gui. "Pathological Choice: The Neuroscience of Gambling and Gambling Addiction". Jounal of Neuroscience 2013 33 (45), 17617–17623. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3231-13.2013.
Lambert, Tim. “History of Gambling: How People Started Gambling.” Local Histories, Galexia Creative Industries Ltd., 22 June 2022, https://localhistories.org/history-of-gambling-how-people-started-gambling/.
With the market for mobile gambling increasing over time, and in the United States more and more states legalizing this activity: do you think that we will see an epidemic of people with gambling addictions? We can try practice responsible gambling, but there may be a population that develops an addiction due to this new access. What should we do for them? Now that it has been legalized in many places and the tax income that governments receive has been realized: will we ever be able to ban it if it becomes an epidemic? You have made an important statement about this issue of gambling addiction being worked on, but do you have any ideas about how it may be fixed after doing your research? How would you feel about a portion of profits or taxes being used to fund research from these institutions?
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