Gambling: the Compulsive Gambler - Assignment Example

Gambling: Cause and Effect The Compulsive Gambler The purpose of this study is to look at the causes and effects of gambling. Whilst we haveresearch the subject on a general basis, at the same time we focused on the problem within the football profession in particular. With this group special consideration has been given to the ethics of whether footballers should be allowed to gamble on the outcome of matches. We have found that certainly in terms of compulsive gambling there is usually a psychological or sociological problem behind it and this is often exacerbated by the aggressive promotional activities organisations within the gaming industry. The effects can manifest themselves serious mental and general health problem on the gambler and their families. In addition it can lead to social and relationship breakdowns. With regard to the ethics of footballers gambling on matches our opinion, for the reasons indicated within the report, is that it is not ethically correct for this to be allowed. Gambling: Cause and Effect The Compulsive Gambler What causes people to gamble and what is the effect that it has on the health and lives of the gambler and those who live around them? Why do footballers gamble and should they be allowed to gamble on the outcome of matches? There are differing views on the answer to these questions. Some researches believe that the root cause lay in a biological or medical deficiency, problem, other that it psychological, an addition in the same vein as alcoholism and drugs. Still others would argue that it is instigated by the conditions of the society we live in. In the dictionary gambling is simply defined as “the art of risking money or something else of value on an activity with an uncertain outcome.” Stated in this way it the fact is that we all gamble to some extent, even children. How many times have we in childhood and adults heard or used the term, “I bet I can do X better, longer, faster, more times than you.” To the vast majority it is just a fractional incidence of life itself. However, in the context of this study our research is dealing with the compulsive gambler in general and in football in particular. It is a growing problem, one that is causing concern even in government circles. The joint committee on the Draft Gambling bill has stated in its own report that the new bill will lead to an increase in problem gambling. This echoes the fears of organisations including The Salvation Army and The Methodist Church, who both gave oral evidence to the committee. (Gambling Committee 7 April 2004). Whilst in the past people involved with football have discounted the fact that there is a gambling problem in football, this is now being admitted to, both by the players themselves and through press revelations. Gary Britton (2003) stated that, “There is no denying that there are footballers with gambling problems, as there are accountants, joiners and bus drivers.” Andrew Culf (2006) wrote that Englands preparations for the World Cup have been disrupted by stories about striker Wayne Rooneys reported £700,000 gambling debts. The explosion of the Internet over the past few decades and the growth of online gambling institutions and opportunities have also exacerbated the problem. The BBC (2005) reported that online gambling may be growing in popularity but as punters rush to place their bets, there are fears Internet gambling is plunging people into debt. Touch-screen roulette machines have set off a "dramatic" change in the habits of gambling addicts, a new report claims. According to GamCare, a charity funded by the gambling industry, one in four calls to its helpline now concern the new craze. GamCare’s own statistics support this. (See Fig 1) Figure 1 The chart below shows the rise from 2001 to 2002 in the percentage of online problem gamblers attending our counselling. The figures for 2003 are up to August GemCare counselling service Of equal, if not more concern, is the growth of gambling problems with young people, which have been exacerbated by the growth in online gambling and National Lottery activities. A report on an Oflot survey (BBC 2005) confirmed of 10,000 children aged between 12 and 15 interviewed, just under half had bought Instants scratch cards and 40% had gambled on the online National Lottery game. Sales of both are banned to under-16s. Causes Research has shown that there could be a number of causes for compulsive gambling. Much of it has concentrated on medical and physiological issues. A number of scientific studies have been conducted to discover these causes, including one in Germany. A team from the University of Bremen studied the physical changes that took place in men playing the card game blackjack. Their findings run contrary to the belief of many addiction researchers who refuse to accept that behaviour can be physiologically addictive. New Scientist magazine reports that the German researchers recruited ten gamblers from a casino and asked them to play blackjack, staking their own money. While the gamblers played, the researchers measured changes in their heart rates and levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva. He then asked them to play for points rather than money, as a "control" situation. Both heart rates and cortisol concentrations were markedly higher when the gamblers played for money. (BBC News November 2000) Somewhat surprisingly, one study that took place in Arizona, USA, even discovered that the taking of certain drugs could, though the results were not conclusive in our opinion, increase the risk of gambling within the a small percentage of patients. After a review of 1,884 patients with Parkinson’s disease who were seen at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Centre, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, over a 12-month period, Dr Mark Stacy and colleagues found that seven men and two women showed signs of pathological gambling. Of these nine patients, eight were being treated with pramipexole (Mirapexin, mean dose 4.3mg/day, range 2 to 8mg/day) and one was being treated with pergolide (Celance, 4.5mg/day) when they started gambling. The researchers report that the overall incidence of gambling among the patients was 0.05 per cent. The incidence of this behaviour among pramipexole-treated patients was 1.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent for pergolide-treated patients. The researchers point out that the rate of pathological gambling found in subjects taking pramipexole is only slightly higher than the reported rate in the general population (0.3 to 1.3 per cent) and other factors could have contributed to the development of this behaviour. (Neurology 2003) There have also been surveys carried out among patients to ascertain their concerns about gambling and behaviour. This is a cross sectional study, comparing patients identified as worrying about their gambling behaviour with the total screened patient population for co morbidity. The setting was 51 urban and rural New Zealand practices. Participants were consecutive adult patients per practice (N=2,536) who completed a brief multi-item tool screening primary care patients for lifestyle risk factors and mental health problems (smoking, alcohol and drug misuse, problem gambling, depression, anxiety, abuse, anger). Data analysis used descriptive statistics and non-parametric binomial tests with adjusting for clustering by practitioner using STATA survey analysis. Results. Approximately 3/100 (3%) answered yes to the gambling question. Those worried about gambling more likely to be male OR 1.85 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.1). Increasing age reduced likelihood of gambling concerns - logistic regression for complex survey data OR = 0.99 (CI 95% 0.97 to 0.99) p = 0.04 for each year older. (Dr Felicity Goodyear Smith et al, 2006) However one of the most popular theories of causes subscribed to is that it is an addiction in the same way as drugs, tobacco and alcohol are. And additions are extremely difficult to control. Like all addictions gambling can be a way of escaping from reality. It involves risk, fantasy and excitement and can create an illusion of living life in the fast lane. The process of the addiction and ensuing denial process can prevent the addicted person from seeing the reality of what is happening to their lives. The delusion that the next risk will be the one which will put everything right and the imagined sense of certainty about the inevitable outcome all conspire to convince the person that just one more risk has to be taken. (The Medical Health Foundation Factsheet) Although there are still those within the football industry who still deny that there is a compulsive gambling problem in the industry generally it has been accepted that it does exist, possibly as a result of high profile cases reported within the press. Some suggest that it was reaching epidemic proportions. Paul Smith (2006) wrote. A total of sixty Premiership football stars are addicted to gambling. The youngest footballer to receive treatment for addiction to horseracing is just 16 years old. He has yet to play for his clubs first-team. He owes £27,000. Indeed, in some cases it had become part of a muti-addiction problem, as revealed by S. Madeley (December 2005). Some people take on the demons of alcohol. Some take on drugs. Others risk it all on gambling. Few take on all three. Paul Merson is one of the latter. Cocaine addict, alcoholic and compulsive gambler - an unhappy hat trick of misery. He estimates his addictions have cost him a cool £7million in monetary terms. There is some validity in these observations. With a total premiership squad of around 700 players, the suggested numbers are approaching 10%, which is a substantially higher percentage that the population in general. In our view opinion there are a three main reasons for this differential. We consider that the lesser of the two, though an important factor, is the level of footballers disposable income in comparison with incomes generally. Average wages are in the region of £23,000, but footballers can command in excess of 100 times that amount, with the income of the elite players often being £100,000 per week or more. Thus where an average earner gambling ten percent of his income would be playing with £40 a week, a top premiership player under the same conditions would be wagering £10,000 plus. The second factor can be attributed to the training and indoctrination of players. Competitiveness and winning is a core factor in their profession. It is relentlessly by managers and other club officials. Whereas in the past the adage “It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part” Was the theory, in today’s football environment this is no longer acceptable. The central aim is that winning is paramount and becomes a compulsion. The third factor that leads players into compulsive gambling is the fear of isolation. The team is a unit and each player is expected to become part of that unit. With a history of gambling within the industry this team spirit leads young players into this field. Because if one does not become part of the team socially, then there is a distinct possibility that one may not become a part of the team professionally. Very few players would risk that isolation. This last element is possibly one of the reasons that the incidence of compulsive gambling is so high in football. Compulsive gamblers generally conduct their addition in isolation, whereas in football this does not appear to be the case. Where we found that research was very limited is in an area, which we consider to be an important event in causing the onset of compulsive gambling. This is the area of peer pressure and idolization through sensationalism. As outlined in the previous paragraph most people fear isolation. This is particularly true in the work place and peer groups, especially those involving young people. Everyone is aware of how isolated they felt if one was not part of the “gang” at school. To avoid being isolated children, and adults, will often do things outside of that which their normal behaviour would not allow, simply to be accepted as part of the crowd. This is a breeding ground for addiction. Consider the number of teenager who started drinking and smoking and drinking just to be one of “them”. The same scenario applies to gambling. If their friends, with bravado, bet £10 on a particular horse winning a race or on feeding a slot machine, to be accepted the newcomer would be expected to do the same. With people with a tendency towards addictive behaviours, this can be the fatal first step to compulsion. It is the same with idolisation. Football players are idolised by their fans, in some cases to the extent that, whatever the player does is considered to be acceptable, if not expected, behaviour for the fan. There is also an intrinsic desire to emulate an idol, and in some people the idolatry is so pronounced that it is difficult for them to distinguish between positive and negative behaviour. This reaction is fed by the way in which the press sensationalises the actions of idols such as football players, even in the cases of their addictions. What sets the compulsive gambler apart is from those who “have the occasional flutter on the lottery etc…” is their willingness to invest more than they can realistically afford to feed their addition, reasoning that the “big win” will bring them financial rewards that would otherwise not be possible or achievable. The part of the brain, which in other scenarios such as retail purchases, might sound caution or rationally advise that the product or service cannot be afforded, seems somehow to be automatically switched off once in the gambling environment. Effects The effects of compulsive gambling are similar to all other additions. It affects lifestyle and health, being more pronounced in certain elements of the population. There is good evidence that an increase in problem gambling bears most heavily upon those on smaller incomes, since they experience a greater increase in money spent on gambling as a proportion of income. Jim Orford (DGB 35). Sarah Boseley (2004) expanded on this in her article for the Guardian. Gambling is not only hard on your pocket but bad for your health, according to the British Medical Journal today. Although gambling is not traditionally considered a public health issue, just under 1% of the British population have a serious problem, and the rate may be twice that in adolescents who feed slot machines, says an article in the journal. Those hooked can be affected by depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders, migraine and other stress related problems. Some become suicidal. There is no doubt that compulsive gambling will lead to severe financial problems as the gambler continues to spend more than they can afford. This in turn will bring about serious consequences in regard to family relationships, marriage and relationship breakdowns being the first to suffer, and an alienation from society as a whole could be an extreme consequence. It can also result in the gambler turning to crime in order to support his addiction. Similarly health problems are also a consequence of compulsive gambling. Depression is bound to set in as the incidence of losing becomes more pronounced and money and relationship problems mount. These consequences are being recognised by government who are attempting to address the problems. Gambling Committee (7 April 2004). The Government had stated that the main purposes of the legislation are to keep crime out of gambling, ensure gambling is fair to gamblers and to protect children and vulnerable people from the negative effects of gambling. However overwhelming evidence presented to the committee signalled a rise in problem gambling was virtually inevitable. Results The results of our research has led us to form the opinion that compulsive gambling is an addiction and can be caused by medical, biological or mental imbalances within the gambler themselves. We also found that several events are conspiring towards the growth in the numbers of compulsive gamblers. Whilst on the one hand researchers, medical practitioners in all fields and governments are investigating ways to help break the habit and reduce the numbers of compulsive gamblers, on the other government liberalisation of Gaming regulations, relatively unrestricted promotion and the huge increase in the growth of internet and phone opportunities open to the gaming industry is feeding the growth in the numbers of compulsive gamblers at a much greater rate that those being cured. We also concluded that social and peer pressure, together with the reporting of the actions of peoples idols, in this particular case footballers, is having the effect of bringing more people into the gambling world in the first place, thus adding to the number of addicts. With regard to Footballers, outside of research outlined above, the only other evidence we found for the incidence of compulsive gambling here was related to the higher levels of indoctrination of competitiveness and much greater levels of disposable income. With regard to the ethics of whether footballers should be allowed to gamble of matches, our conclusion is that this should be forbidden. The reasoning behind this view is that, as is the case in inside trading, it a) gives them an unfair advantage over other gamblers and b) creates an environment where events can be manipulated (e.g. – max fixing). Organisations in other industries forbid their employees and their family members from entering into competitions run by them and the same rule should apply to the football industry. We found that such an addiction can have profound health and mental health effects on the gambler as well as impacting on the work, financial security, relationship and the social aspect of their lives, irrespective of their social standing. From a health point of view physical and mental breakdowns and even suicide can result if the addition remains unchecked. Loss of work, financial ruin, breakdown of marriages and other relationships and a withdrawal from the normal human roles in society can be the material effect. Discussions Having researched into a wide variety of information regarding compulsive gambling it is our opinion that their needs to be further research and investigation into two key areas, namely peer pressure, including the effect of idolatry, and sensationalism. There needs to be a greater understanding, not only of how it works, but also as to how it can be encouraged to operate in more positive rather than negative areas. This research would also produce a greater understanding of why the negative actions of idols such as football players has as much, if not more impact on those that idolise them than positive actions and activities appear to. In addition, bearing in mind the increase in problem gambling in the case of juveniles, we would recommend that this addition, its causes and effects, should become part of the educational process. We would also advocate that the gaming industry be subjected to similar rules regarding their products as the Financial and Tobacco industries are. Every pack of tobacco product and every item of promotional literature is required by law to carry a warning relating to the negative effect the purchase of use of the product may have on a persons health and wealth together with the effect it may have on others. In our view the gaming industry should be compelled to carry similar warnings. References Andrew Culf, (2006) Gambling Epidemic in Premiership. The Guardian. London Britton G. (19 January 2003) Some players make the bookmakers their home turf, but we are not all gambling fanatics. Scotland on Sunday Smith, Paul (19 February 2006) Article Exclusive Investigation: Gambling Epidemic. Sunday Mirror. London Madeley, S. (31 December 2005) £7 million lost to gambling misery. The Guardian. London BBC News (8 November, 2000). Gambling as addictive as smoking Comment on research published in the journal Biological Psychiatry Factsheet on Compulsive Gambling. Mental Health Foundation. Retrieved 5 May 2006 http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/ Goodyear-smith, Dr Felicity (corresponding author) (10 April 2006) Primary care patients reporting concerns about their gambling frequently have other co-occurring lifestyle and mental health issues Abstract (provisional) BMC Central. Sarah Boseley, (health editor) (2004). Gambling. The Guardian. London Oford, Professor Jim. HM The Stationery Office Joint Committee on Draft Gambling Bill Memoranda BBC News (2005) The human cost of online gambling. Research. (2003). Warn patients treated for Parkinsons disease about gambling behaviour risk (Neurology; 61:422). Joseph W. Ciarrocchi. Counseling Problem Gamblers and Their Families. Academic Press; 1st edition (September 2001) California 7 April 2004 Gambling Committee Draft Gambling bill BBC News (1998) Lottery linked to under aged gambling. Comment on Oflot survey Bowers, S. (9 May 2005) Roulette machines blamed for rise in gambling addiction. The Guardian. London Read More