What are the Signs of Gambling Addiction in Adults?

Article by : Svetozar Kuzman Dec 27, 2023

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Over the years, the diagnosis of gambling addiction was perfected, and today, we have nine main symptoms of this disorder.

1. Raising the stakes
2. Being nervous when you don’t gamble
3. You already had lots of attempts to stop gambling
4. You’re obsessed with gambling
5. You’re using gambling as a coping mechanism
6. You cannot accept your losses
7. You’re constantly lying to your friends and family about your gambling habit
8. Your intimate and professional lives suffer due to gambling
9. Using your family and friends as a source of money

How is Gambling Addiction Diagnosed?

Before we explain each of the symptoms, we’ll first explain how gambling disorder is diagnosed in the first place. First of all, only a licensed mental health professional (e.g. psychiatrists, clinical psychologists) can diagnose a gambling disorder, and only after extensive testing. Mental health professionals rely on detailed clinical interviews, tests, and checklists to make a diagnosis. This isn’t something that can be completed in five minutes (usually, a diagnosis is given after multiple hours of testing and data analysis).

Next, mental health professionals are trying to answer the following question:

Does this person experience significant distress or impairment due to gambling?

To answer this question, a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist looks at the following symptoms and whether they can be detected in how an individual behaves. There are nine symptoms in total, and if four symptoms are present, a gambling disorder diagnosis can be made. The more symptoms there are, the more severe the disorder is.

Symptom 1: Raising the stakes

People who don’t have a gambling disorder often invest small sums of money, and even that only occasionally. Even when they lose, the loss isn’t that drastic. But people who have a gambling disorder have to raise the stakes to have fun while gambling constantly.

And it’s not necessarily about winning. It’s simply about the thrill, the risk of losing money. Some people love this thrill and are ready to invest excessive money to get it.

Symptom 2: Being nervous when you don’t gamble

If you become restless, nervous, and irritable when you cannot gamble (e.g. you don’t have access to a casino, you don’t have enough money, or you’re trying to stop gambling), this can be a sign that you have a gambling disorder.

Symptom 3: You already had lots of attempts to stop gambling

Perhaps you’ve already had problems in your family or workplace because you gambled too much. Having managed to stay “sober” for a while, you inevitably get back to pathological gambling.

A lot of people who have a gambling disorder gradually narrow down their social circles to gambling places and other pathological gamblers. When this happens, it’s tough to quit or curb your gambling habit because you’re constantly surrounded by temptation.

Symptom 4: You’re obsessed with gambling

It happens that people stop gambling but still constantly think about it. Memories of past wins spring up to mind, as well as predictions of future successes and all the things you’ll do with all that money you’ll win.

Some people are thinking about “beating the system” and how they can outsmart casinos, but most of them will either get thrown out of a casino or lose all their money. Gambling games are mathematically designed to always go against the player. It’s impossible to actually “beat the system”.

Symptom 5: You’re using gambling as a coping mechanism

Much as numerous people are using substances to numb the pain they experience in interpersonal relations, many individuals use gambling as a coping mechanism. It’s not unusual for people to spend whole days and nights in casinos. Gambling, after all, is a game, and as such, it can keep you occupied for quite a while, helping you not think about the things you don’t want to think about.

Symptom 6: You cannot accept your losses

A lot of pathological gamblers have that feeling that a big win is just around the corner. If they keep investing and playing, they’ll soon win. Most of the time, they lose all the money they had and even the money they didn’t have (because they borrowed money from someone).

Symptom 7: You’re constantly lying to your friends and family about your gambling habit

Where did all that money come from? 

You received your paycheck just a few days ago and still don’t have any money; what’s happening? 

I lent you a lot last month, and now you’re asking for money again?

Sooner or later, your family members and friends will notice something wrong. You’ll fail to return the money you borrowed; you’ll have to lie about where you’re going in the middle of the night, and you’ll have to lie about how you suddenly have a lot of money. These are all very unpleasant situations and questions that pathological gamblers experience daily. Imagine how stressful this can be. As someone with a gambling disorder, you constantly have your guard up because you’re hiding something all the time.

Symptom 8: Your intimate and professional lives suffer due to gambling

Symptom 7 inevitably leads to Symptom 8. Your loved ones will ultimately have to leave you before you pull them into the dark hole of gambling debt. You won’t be able to do your job properly because you’re thinking about gambling all the time. In extreme cases, your partner will no longer want to be with you, your children will avoid you, and you’ll lose your job.

Symptom 9: Using your family and friends as a source of money

We’ve already touched upon this aspect in Symptom 8. Because a pathological gambler can lose all the money in the world, family and friends will become something like a bank. Extreme gamblers constantly ask their loved ones to lend them money, which they never return.

Conclusion

We can see that there are many different signs of gambling addiction. It’s a complex disorder that affects all aspects of a person’s functioning, as we’ve explained in our article on dysfunction related to irresponsible gambling.

If you think that you suffer from this disorder, please don’t self-diagnose but contact a mental health professional who has the necessary experience and knowledge to diagnose mental health disorders.

Sources used in this article:

• National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG)
• American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• PubMed