Gambling

Gambling, the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning. There are many different types of gambling, including casino gaming which may be table or electronic and non casino gambling including for example bingo, dice and card games.

Personally I have never been a big gambler. My stake goes as far as a pound on a football match or a pound on the lottery if it is a roll over. My main reasoning for choosing to not participate in such activity is due to that fact that I would definitely become addicted. Becoming addicted is a core reason to why gambling could be perceived as a bad behaviour. According to the website http://www.overcominggambling.com/facts.html it was found that 15 million people display some sign of a gambling addiction. An opposing reason to why gambling is bad, could stem from religious beliefs. For example in the bible it states how gambling is a sin and participation in such behaviour means defying Gods wishes.

Even though gambling as presented above has several reasons to why it may be seen as a bad behaviour, it must be questioned whether it is completely bad. As discussed to Gamble some people wish to only spend a pound on a lottery ticket, therefore if the behaviour of gambling is control, it is then not acceptable? Contradictory to this, if the behaviour is acceptable what is the extent point at which it turns bad.

Personally I believe, being a casual social gambler is acceptable as it is infrequent for entertainment purposes. In comparison I also believe relief-and-escape, compulsive or anti-social gambler is bad. I believe this as it can cause harm to a person mentally, affects family members, it can increase debts in turn leading to psychological stress and can also lead to further forms of bad behaviour such as lying and stealing. With 65% of pathological gamblers committing crimes to support their gambling habit.