Compulsive gambling is a progressive disease, much like an addiction to alcohol or drugs. In many cases, the gambling addiction is hidden until the gambler becomes unable to function without gambling, and he or she begins to exclude all other activities from their lives.

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GAMBLING: THE HIDDEN ADDICTION
thesoberworld.com/2018/06/01/gambling-hidden-addiction
Compulsive gambling is a progressive disease, much like an addiction to alcohol or drugs.
In many cases, the gambling addiction is hidden until the gambler becomes unable to
function without gambling, and he or she begins to exclude all other activities from their
lives.
The inability to stop gambling often results in financial devastation, broken homes,
employment problems, criminal acts and suicide attempts. The gambler is eventually able
to remove himself/herself from reality, to the point of being totally obsessed with
gambling.
Eventually, they will do anything and everything to get the money they need so they can
stay in the “action”. They will spend alltheir time and energy developing schemes in order
to get money to continue their gambling. Lying becomes a way of life for the gambler.
They will try to convince others and themselves that their lies are actually truths and they
will eventually believe their own lies.
Some people will hit their bottom, and when they do, they know they will need to get help
to stop their gambling. At this point, they want to stop, but they can’t do it alone. Many
will keep gambling. Some will end up in jail, some will attempt suicide, and some will die
from their addiction because they haven’t taken care of their health. For some, the stress
can kill them. And then, there is a small group of addicted gamblers who will seek and
find help. There are Gamblers Anonymous groups that can help the gambler find

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recovery- real recovery, not just abstinence. www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/
By the time the gambler comes for help they have broken brains
(meaning, their brains don’t work like they used to when they were not in their addiction).
To get real recovery, the gambler needs to work on himself/herself one day at a time and
get someone who has been in recovery for a significant amount of time (a sponsor), who
can help them learn how to think normally again. After some time in recovery, their
brains will begin to go back to normal and they will once again become productive at their
job and go back to being the father, mother, wife, or husband, son or daughter that they
were before gambling took over.
Recovery is a process and it takes a lot of work on one’s self, as well as making a moral
and financial inventory. But, people can and do recover.
Family involvement is crucial, and will enhance the treatment process. Family members
need to understand that bailouts are detrimental to the gamblers recovery. They also need
to take care of themselves and find their own road to recovery. There is a group called
Gam-Anon with meetings throughout the United States. Their website is: www.gam-
anon.org. Gam-Anon can help them understand the financial and emotional effects of
living with a gambler.
Compulsive Gamblers and family members can find recovery from this devastating
addiction, but it is a process that takes time and effort. During, and after treatment, the
gambler needs to continue attendance at GA meetings, get a sponsor, have a pressure
relief meeting to aid in financial recovery, and continue to learn and live the 12 steps of
recovery.
Many people who go into treatment for drugs or drinking also have a gambling problem
but it is rarely addressed in treatment. In most cases, treatment centers don’t have
someone on staff that understands gambling addiction. When the client goes home and
starts to gamble again, many of the old behaviors return. Hopefully, if the treatment
center has someone on staff that understands gambling, the client can be assessed for a
gambling addiction as well, and will be able to be treated for all addictions.
Symptoms of Gambling Disorder
The DSM-5 indicates that the symptoms of Gambling Disorder are:
A. Persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant
impairment or distress, as indicated by the individual exhibiting four (or more) of the
following in a 12-month period:
1. Needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired
excitement.
2. Is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling.
3. Has made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling.
4. Is often preoccupied with gambling (e.g., having persistent thoughts of reliving past
gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, thinking of ways to get
money with which to gamble).
5. Often gambles when feeling distressed (e.g., helpless, guilty, anxious, depressed).
6. After losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even (“chasing” one’s

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losses).
7. Lies to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling.
8. Has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career
opportunity because of gambling.
9. Relies on others to provide money to relieve desperate financial situations caused by
gambling.
A personal example from my own history while gambling is as follows:
Arnie: My gambling started at age 7 and lasted until I was 30. I placed my last bet on
April 10, 1968. My wife Sheila can tell you
a little of what went on in our home in the first seven years of our marriage before I got
into recovery.
Sheila: I kept thinking it would get better, but married life just got worse. The
refrigerator was empty, the furniture was threadbare and the scruffy apartment was even
more dismal than you can imagine.
I was trying to get pregnant and thought having a child would pull us together. The
doctor told me that the stress I was living with made getting pregnant more difficult,
and I certainly was living with a lot stress. Eventually, I did become pregnant and those
were happy times for me, even if it was one sided. I ignored what was going on in our
lives together. I told myself everything was going to be wonderful and for a while, being
pregnant was my delight and I was very forgiving and less critical of Arnie. But, I was
fooling myself. I will never forget when my pregnancy was close to term, I phoned Arnie
at work and asked him what I should do if I went into labor. Before that, when I had a
doctor’s appointment, he would send me with his brother. Now, he told me to call my
father to take me to the hospital because he was busy. He had left work that day and
went to the race track!
Arnie: This is a typical scenario of a relationship when someone is in the throes of their
gambling addiction. It was another three years before I went for help.
Arnie and Sheila Wexler are the authors of “All Bets Are Off”, a book on gambling
addiction and recovery.
Arnie and Sheila have presented at educational workshops nationally and
internationally, and have trained treatment centers opening up gambling treatment
programs. They also have provided expert witness testimony. They have trained over
40,000 casino employees and executives and have worked with gaming companies to
help formulate Responsible Gaming Programs. In addition, Arnie has done training for
Fortune 500 corporations, legislative bodies and on college campuses. He has also done
trainings’ for the National Football League (NFL)and the National Basketball League
(NBA).
They provide extensive training on Compulsive Gambling.
www.aswexler.com aswexler@aol.com 954-501-5270

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