Gambling involves the use of skill in the attempt to win a prize. It can include skill-based games, sports betting, and card games among others. Some people also engage in regulated gambling, such as the lottery, horse racing, and casino games. Whether a person gambles consciously or unconsciously, it may lead to addiction, which can cause problems with finances, work, family, and health. Those who develop gambling problems should seek help from a mental health professional to overcome their problem.
In order to identify gambling’s benefits and costs, several studies have been conducted. Most of these studies fall into one of three groups. The first group, gross impact studies, tends to focus on a single aspect of the issue and therefore fails to provide a balanced perspective. These studies often overstate the economic benefits of gambling and underestimate the costs (e.g., lost productivity).
A second type of study focuses on description rather than analysis. These studies usually emphasize the identification of benefits and costs, but fail to consider how these benefits and costs vary across time and place. In addition, they tend to take estimates from previous studies without conducting their own independent evaluation. Moreover, they do not recognize that different types of impacts can affect quality of life in different ways. For example, while financial harms like increased debt and job loss can negatively affect the individual gambler, they can also increase the risk of depression and other mood disorders in the surrounding population.
