The Social Impacts of Gambling
Gambling is the act of placing a bet or wager on an event with the intention of winning money. There are many ways to gamble, including betting on sports, playing poker, making a bet on horse races or purchasing scratchcards. In addition, there are online gambling sites, where you can bet on a variety of events and games. However, gambling is not just an entertainment option – it can also have negative consequences for those who use it. Some people become addicted to gambling and end up losing money or even their lives. The good news is that there are steps you can take to help prevent gambling problems.
Many people think that gambling is only about a quick win and that it’s a sinful activity. This is not the case, although there are some religious groups that consider it to be a sin. But more than 1 billion people, or about one seventh of the world’s population, gamble each year. The majority of people, about 75 percent, gamble responsibly and get pleasure from the hope of a small win. But there is a 20 percent chance that a person can become addicted to gambling and develop a problem. In addition to the risk of addiction, gambling can have negative effects on society and cause financial losses. These losses include the cost of treatment for gambling disorders, increased crime and bankruptcy rates. However, it is important to remember that gambling can also provide real value to society.
The positive aspects of gambling are numerous. For example, recreational gamblers have lower societal costs than nongamblers. Moreover, older adults who are regular gamblers report better mental and physical health functioning than those who don’t gamble. Among lower socioeconomic groups, gaining pleasure from gambling may enhance self-concepts and help them to feel optimistic in the face of life’s challenges.
Negative aspects of gambling also include the effect on family members and friends of a gambler’s increasing debts, as well as the cost of lost opportunities (e.g., due to missed work) caused by gambling. These impacts can have long-term effects and create a change in an individual’s life course, and can even pass between generations.
Research into the social impacts of gambling has mainly focused on the harms and not the benefits. The main methodological challenge is defining what constitutes “social” versus “personal” impacts and how these should be measured. For example, studies have often excluded personal and interpersonal impacts because they are difficult to quantify in monetary terms. In contrast, a definition of social impact proposed by Williams and Walker defines it as any cost or benefit that aggregates societal real wealth or leads to a loss in a group rather than an individual. This approach is a step in the right direction and should be further developed. However, a more thorough approach is needed to include all the costs and benefits of gambling. The following article aims to review and discuss these different approaches in the light of the available literature.