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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffCompulsive gambling can have profound and long-lasting consequences for your life, including:
- Estrangement of family and friends
- Financial problems, including bankruptcy
- Legal problems or incarceration — nearly 90 percent of compulsive gamblers commit felonies
- Job loss or professional stigma
- Development of associated problems, such as alcohol or drug abuse
- Suicide — Gambling hotspots such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, New Jersey, have some of the highest suicide rates in the country
References
- Pathologic gambling. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed.: American Psychiatric Association;2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Dec. 1, 2008.
- Questions and answers. Gamblers Anonymous. http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/qna.html. Accessed Dec. 1, 2008.
- Unwin BK, et al. Pathologic gambling. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 1, 2008.
- About problem gaming: FAQ. National Council on Problem Gaming. http://www.ncpgambling.org/about_problem/about_problem_faq.asp. Accessed Dec 1, 2008.
- Dodd ML, et al. Pathological gambling caused by drugs used to treat Parkinson disease. Archives of Neurology. 2005;62:1377.
- Unwin BK, et al. Pathologic gambling. American Family Physician. 2006;61(3):741.
- Compulsive gambling. Minnesota Department of Human Services. http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_008574. Accessed Dec.1, 2008.
- Grant JE. Gender differences in pathological gamblers seeking medication treatment. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2002;43:56.
- Ibanez A, et al. Genetics of pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies. 2003;19:11.
- Regard M, et al. Brain damage and addictive behavior: A neuropsychological and electroencephalogram investigation with pathologic gamblers. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. 2003;16:47.
- Kringelbach ML, et al. The functional neuroanatomy of the human orbitofrontal cortex: Evidence from neuroimaging and neuropsychology. Progress in Neurobiology. 2004;72:341.
