Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Gamble

Some of us might end up gambling from time to time. We are enticed by the opportunity to earn some cold, hard cash. But is it worth your time and your money? Gambling has been shown to be a harmful and destructive habit which destroys relationships and induces poverty. In this article, we shall discuss this topic in further detail. Before you continue reading, do follow me and subscribe to my newsletter! Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

#1: You Will End Up Losing Money

Many become excited by the prospect by earning large amounts of money in the casino or even illegal gambling dens. However, overall, you will only end up losing your hard-earned money. Let’s take a look at an example. About 85% of adults in the U.S. have gambled at least once in their life and the gambling industry takes in about $500 billion a year. Yes, that’s a lot of money. In fact, statistics have shown that over 95% of gamblers end up losing money overall. But how? This is because the games in casinos are handled in such a way that the casinos, otherwise known as the “house”, will almost always have the advantage. Furthermore, casinos leverage on the compulsion of gamblers to keep them coming back.

#2: Relationships Are Destroyed

People who suffer from gambling addiction may find themselves siphoning large amounts of money from their precious savings and those of their loved ones, just to sustain their habits. Some might even engage in illegal activities so as to repay the debts caused by gambling. Furthermore, these addicts almost always spend large amounts of time gambling and report difficulty in quitting. Consequently, the time these people spend with their loved ones and family decreases, and naturally relationships are broken. A child might be ashamed of his father’s compulsive gambling behaviour, while a spouse might become increasingly suspicious and untrusting towards his/her partner. This is often worsened by financial difficulties caused by the aforementioned addiction.

#3: Mental Health

By itself, gambling can be a highly stressful activity, with numerous highs and lows. As a gambler becomes increasingly consumed in the activity, he/she might experience mood swings, anxiety and decreased self control. He/she might find himself/herself worrying constantly about whether he/she will gain or lose money in the next run. Losing money can be extremely uncomfortable and demoralising for such individuals, thereby triggering explosive outbursts of anger. This is just the tip of the iceberg. After a long period of time and without changes to such behaviour, the individual might find himself/herself in financial difficulties. This is worsened by the broken relationships caused by gambling. As such, the individual’s stress might culminate to a point where he/she thinks of suicide. To add credibility to this point, research commissioned by a leading UK gambling charity, GambleAware, found that gamblers were six times more likely to have thoughts of suicide or attempt suicide.

Conclusion

Gambling is not a reliable way to earn money and most of you who have done so before might find yourselves losing large amounts of money. I hope that this article was helpful to you, and if it was, do give it a like! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next article.