The Social Impacts of Gambling
Gambling is wagering something of value on an event with the hope of winning something else of value. It involves consideration, risk and a prize, and it can be done in many forms including sports betting, casino games (e.g. roulette and blackjack) and even online gambling. In addition to this, there are a number of other ways people gamble including the lottery and horse racing. Most people gamble responsibly and enjoy the entertainment value of it, but a small percentage can get carried away, incur debts that impair their ability to support themselves and end up suffering from an addiction to gambling.
The causes of this problem are complex and vary from person to person. It can be triggered by a variety of factors including genetic predisposition to thrill-seeking behaviours, an underactive brain reward system and problems with weighing up risk against gain. Other factors include the way our brain sends chemical messages and whether we are able to control our impulses.
In terms of the latter, it has been suggested that a lack of prefrontal cortex activation can make us more susceptible to addictive behaviours. This is because the prefrontal cortex controls the ability to weigh up gains against losses and determine when gambling will be harmful. However, a recent study suggests that it isn’t the only factor involved and that other neurochemicals can influence how people think about risks.
There are a number of benefits to gambling, but it is important to know the risks and be prepared to walk away when it becomes a problem. In some cases, this can be difficult as gambling is seen as a fun activity and some cultures see it as a normal pastime. This can make it hard to recognize when gambling has become a problem and may lead to attempts to hide the problem such as hiding money.
Despite the negatives, the industry contributes to economies all over the world and is one of the biggest employment sectors in places like Las Vegas. In addition to this, it can also help with social cohesion and community well-being by providing a range of jobs to those who need them. However, the impact of gambling on the wider community/society has received less attention than its economic impacts.
The social impacts of gambling can be classified into three classes, namely financial, labor and health/well-being. Financial impacts include changes to financial situations, and they can manifest on personal, interpersonal and community/society levels. Labor impacts refer to the effects that gambling can have on workers, and they can include changes in work performance, absenteeism and a decline in quality of life. Lastly, health/well-being impacts are the negative consequences that can arise from gambling and affect a person’s physical, psychological and social well-being. These impacts can be structured using a model that divides them into costs and benefits, with the former aggregating societal real wealth and the latter being non-monetary. The structure of this model is shown below.