Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: In Focus

Media Credit: Jack Barnwell

Bet on the mortgage. Bet on the groceries this week. Bet on your marriage, family and closest friends.

Many addicted gamblers bet on these things without realizing it. Gambling can change a person's life and destroy everything someone has worked for.

According to Helpguide.org, there are two types of compulsive gambling. One is action gambling.

This happens when the gambler is addicted to the thrill of risk-taking as his or her "substance of choice." The action itself becomes the drug. The action gambler usually plays games with other players.

The other type of gambling is escape gambling. This type is done to cover up uncomfortable feelings or an emotional life crisis.

The action of gambling is usually secondary to the numbing effect of the activity. The escape gambler usually plays games that don't involve human contact.

No one has to fall into strictly one category or the other. These two can become intertwined. Jake Daniels* is an example. He posted an answer through Yahoo! answers and told his story through e-mail.

On the outside he is a married logistics coordinator for a major transportation company. Yet on the flip side he is addicted to gambling.

"I've been in an unhappy marriage for 11 years, and have used poker to escape from it. Often times I haven't planned to play poker until the weekend, yet I find myself going in the middle of the week just to avoid my home life.

" The other factor is the adrenaline rush I experience while I'm playing…I find myself sitting for hours, waiting for the next big pot."

This is how Daniels describes what fuels his addiction.
Tony Mancuso is a 10-year veteran of Las Vegas casinos. In an e-mail exchange he talked about how he has known many professional gamblers and saw his addicted father destroy his life with his addiction to gambling.

He explains the "action" of an addicted gambler: "What I've noticed in many gamblers is the need for the adrenaline rush.
"Being 'in action' seems almost as important as winning. Most gamblers need that adrenaline boost. That is what they are addicted to."

Signs of an addicted gambler are: They lie to family members and others to hide gambling. They perform illegal acts (theft, embezzlement, fraud) to fund their addiction.

The addict risks significant relationships or their job for gambling, and or has to repeatedly ask others around for money to get bailed out of the desperate financial situation caused by gambling.

Continued...

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