Gambling Addictions a Dysfunction

11/03/2008		Gambling Addictions a Dysfunction
Home History Games News Dictionary		New studies are coming to light in regards to addictions to gambling that might further stir the revolutionary resistance to the UIGEA. New analysis are being published that blame problem gambling on more than the activity, saying that the issue stems from behavioral dysfunction. Lawrence Anderson, an analyst at the Online Casino Advisory for problem gambling, encourages people to look deeper into the issue than the personal anecdotes. Though sad, he says, treating the individual struggles with easy fixes doesn’t address the larger problem. He discourages the prohibition of gambling entirely, stating that the addiction will only manifest itself in other ways. Anderson made statements to the press in response to a lecture given by Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky. The doctor spoke of those who lose themselves so deeply in gambling that they lose control their lives, sacrificing their homes, families, livelihoods to fulfill the need to bet. Anderson, however, had the following to say, “Many studies in the last year or more, across the globe, have found compulsive gambling to be an expression of an underlying behavioral dysfunction. Removing gambling from the equation does not cure the cause, but simply forces it to manifest itself in other dysfunctional ways, including drug or alcohol abuse, domestic issues, and problems functioning in society.” He continues by saying those impulses can be satisfied by any number of hobbies including hang gliding, scuba diving, even drinking- so those who lean towards obsessive impulses are not helped by the banning of online casinos. They’ll find another outlet. Anderson suggests education as the possible solution, “and those who do not respond to education may have more severe mental disorders. Other studies support Anderson’s cause by providing evidence that gambling irresponsibly is linked to a defect in the frontal cortex. Both chemical and behavioral means to treat have been found viable. In either case, however, acts such as the UIGEA do little to solve the problem, with prohibition only eliminating a symptom.

11/03/2008

Gambling Addictions a Dysfunction

New studies are coming to light in regards to addictions to gambling that might further stir the revolutionary resistance to the UIGEA. New analysis are being published that blame problem gambling on more than the activity, saying that the issue stems from behavioral dysfunction.

Lawrence Anderson, an analyst at the Online Casino Advisory for problem gambling, encourages people to look deeper into the issue than the personal anecdotes. Though sad, he says, treating the individual struggles with easy fixes doesn’t address the larger problem. He discourages the prohibition of gambling entirely, stating that the addiction will only manifest itself in other ways.
Anderson made statements to the press in response to a lecture given by Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky. The doctor spoke of those who lose themselves so deeply in gambling that they lose control their lives, sacrificing their homes, families, livelihoods to fulfill the need to bet. Anderson, however, had the following to say, “Many studies in the last year or more, across the globe, have found compulsive gambling to be an expression of an underlying behavioral dysfunction. Removing gambling from the equation does not cure the cause, but simply forces it to manifest itself in other dysfunctional ways, including drug or alcohol abuse, domestic issues, and problems functioning in society.”

He continues by saying those impulses can be satisfied by any number of hobbies including hang gliding, scuba diving, even drinking- so those who lean towards obsessive impulses are not helped by the banning of online casinos. They’ll find another outlet. Anderson suggests education as the possible solution, “and those who do not respond to education may have more severe mental disorders.

Other studies support Anderson’s cause by providing evidence that gambling irresponsibly is linked to a defect in the frontal cortex. Both chemical and behavioral means to treat have been found viable. In either case, however, acts such as the UIGEA do little to solve the problem, with prohibition only eliminating a symptom.