What ever you call it, gambling, gaming, betting, wagering, it is a enjoyable, recreational experience for millions of people. The excitement, lights, sounds, odors, the casinos' free drinks, the inexpensive food, the luxury hotels, the shows, all designed to attract the player, are all part of the enjoyable experience of the recreational gambler. For the most part, these people figure out in advance how much money they can afford to lose and consider it money well spent as they would for river rafting, touring, golf or other forms of recreation.

There is another group who may think they gamble for fun but in reality they gamble because they can not stop. These people are gambling addicts. Whether or not this is a physical problem similar to addictions to substances like tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, or a form of mental illness, or something else, I don't know and, as far as I can tell, neither does any one else. For a change a politically correct label "self-control impaired" might be the most accurate.

No matter what category of addiction it is assigned or what you call it, gambling addictions have similar characteristics with all other negative addictions:

1. There is pattern of compulsive, self destructive behavior and a denial of the condition to self and others, such as, "I can quit when ever I want. I just don't want to," or, "I'll quit after I win back $XXX."

2. The addict's life centers around gambling at the expense of self, family, home and job.

3. Gambling increases in frequency and amounts played.

4. No matter how much one wins, there is no relief, no sense of satisfaction.

5. The company of other addicts is preferred over that of family and friends.

6. Nag, reason, plead, beseech, implore all you want but addicts will neither seek nor accept help unless they really want help, which unfortunately is usually after they lose everything in their lives and hit rock bottom.

7. The addict blames other entities, such as casinos, for their addiction.

What ever the cause, there is help available for those seeking it. There is also help for non addicts in dealing with family members or friends who are gambling addicts, similar to Alanon, helping friends and family of alcoholics. Even an addict's employer, could benefit from these programs depending on their relationship and how much the employee is valued.

One of the reasons addicts do not seek help is that while they may admit to themselves they have a problem, their pride and possibility of perceived embarrassment will not allow them to share that information with others about their "little problem".

The anonymity of programs such as Gamblers Anonymous, as with Alcoholics Anonymous, tends to overcome some of the personal barriers to getting the help that is needed.

If your gambling is out of control, I urge our to look at what is really going on in your life and to seek help. Since it is doubtful anyone put a gun to your head and forced you to bet, the first step in helping yourself is not to blame others for your problems.

Instead, you must take responsibility for your actions and your life. There is plenty of help available but only if you want it and have the desire to put your life back on track.

If you do not have a gambling addiction but someone close to you does, I urge you to find out as much about it as possible. You might not be able to help the addict but you will be able to help yourself deal with the problems associated with gambling addiction.

Some of the help programs require no meetings, no personal contacts and can be joined by phone or on-line. I do not know if these programs are as helpful as the "go to meetings" types but any help is better than no help.

There are hundreds of web pages that deal with the subject. Here are links to some of them that I found interesting; a lot of these have links to other related pages. Some offer help to the problem gambler, some to friends and family, while others offer information about the problem.

http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/
Official Gamblers Anonymous Home Page

http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/qna.html
Gamblers Anonymous FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

http://www.teleport.com/~catchwrd/GAweb/guests.html
Gamblers Anonymous type message center: A world-wide, 24-hour meeting of friends.

http://www.gamblingproblem.co.nz/
Gambling problem hotline (New Zealand)

http://www.gamblingproblem.org/
Problem Gambling Education Association

http://www.msgambler.org/
Mississippi council on problem and compulsive gambling

http://www.cfcg.on.ca/
The Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling

http://www.ncrg.org/
National center for responsible gaming.

http://www.geminiresearch.com/
GEMINI RESEARCH

http://www.americangaming.org/
American Gaming Association

http://www.ccsa.ca/gmbv.htm
Canada-SPECIAL GROUPS OF PROBLEM GAMBLERS

http://www.usgri.org/textonly/text.html
United States Gambling Research Institute

http://www.nyu.edu/acf/socsci/Docs/task_force_6.html
SEVERITY OF COMPULSIVE GAMBLING AND CO-ADDICTION IN MARYLAND

http://www.wscpg.org/about.htm
Washington State: WHAT IS PROBLEM GAMBLING?

http://www.gov.nb.ca/finance/vlt/appendfe.htm
PROBLEM GAMBLING IN NEW BRUNSWICK

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/revenue_dir/racing_dir/probgam.htm
Colorado Division of Gaming: Problem Gambling Compulsive or Problem Gambling

http://www.indianlife.org/news4/affect.htm
Does Gambling Affect your Family?

http://www.state.mi.us/mgcb/compulsv.htm
Michigan Compulsive Gaming Help Line

http://www.azccg.org/ABOUT_ACCG/crisis.html
FACTS ON COMPULSIVE GAMBLING

http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p5h-gam2.html
Compulsive Gambling: Addiction Without Drugs

http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p5h-gam1.html
Pathological Gambling

http://www.pressplus.com/content/gaming/g980523.html
Casinos do more to aid compulsive gamblers

http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9712/htm/gambling.htm
Mayo Clinic: Compulsive Gambling

http://www.charityvillage.com/charityvillage/research/ ram8.html
What is problem and compulsive gambling?