Gambling is a controversial issue that has long been discussed. On one hand there are many people who state that gambling is an enjoyable, harmless hobby. On the other hand, there are many people who argue that gambling is often underestimated and can actually be detrimental to one's life. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary claims that gambling is: the act of “betting on an uncertain outcome”. Although typical examples of gambling include lottery tickets, poker, blackjack, and roulette; gambling can also be in the form of placing a bet on a basketball game or something as innocent as a game of bingo ("Common Types Of Gambling", n.d.). Gambling can practically be done in any situation where there is a winner and a loser.
We are often told to do what we enjoy, but what happens when what “we” enjoy winds up becoming something we need? When needing to have a certain substance or complete an act becomes a priority, no matter the circumstances, we would then be an addict. Addiction is defined as “a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble) (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Gambling and addiction often go hand in hand. Addiction is a nationwide epidemic that many individuals suffer from. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, or gambling, addiction can take over someone’s life. Individuals that suffer from any type of addiction show clear psychological symptoms upon withdrawn. Addiction is leaded by tolerance: the capacity of an individual to become less responsible to the effects of the addictive substance or activity after repeated exposure (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). For example, the longer an individual is a pathological gambler, the harder it becomes to satisfy their needs through gambling. Consequently, the gambler ends up in a vicious cycle where they need to gamble more often or take bigger risks, just to be satisfied.
In the United States, an individual can legally gamble by the age of 19 years old. Around the age of 19, most students are beginning college. Starting college is a huge change for all students, regardless of age, gender, or race. For many incoming freshman college students, going to live at college is the first time that they are living on their own. Not only are there countless changes going on, but students at this age are easily influenced and are extremely open to trying new things (Thrasher et al, 2007). With their willingness to try new activities, many students are at risk for partaking in gambling. At 19 years old, an individual can buy lottery tickets, but they have limitations on certain types of gambling such as slot machines which cannot be used until the age of 21 years (National Research Council, 1999). Each state has their own laws on gambling ages within casinos, but at the age of 19 years old each individual is able to participate in at least one type of gambling (National Research Council, 1999).
Although gambling is permitted by the age of 19, the human cerebral cortex does not fully develop until the age of 21 (“Cerebral Lobes,” n.d.). The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain responsible for decision making and logical reasoning. On the contrary, the limbic system, responsible for processing emotional behavior, is fully mature at the age of 18. The underdeveloped cerebral cortex of college students can explain why there are so many individuals who gamble while in their early twenties, but quickly discard this habit as they get older (LaBrie et al, 2003). As a result, young adults tend to make impulsive decisions and are open to new experiences without envisioning the possible consequences, leading to psychological addiction (“Cerebral Lobes,” n.d.).
Finding out how many college students participate in gambling is not an easy task, but LaBrie was able to conduct a study where students revealed their actual gambling tendencies. In a study conducted by LaBrie et al , it was found that 42% of college students gambled within the last year of that study (Barnes et al, 2010). In addition, LaBrie et al found that 2.6% of students gambled at least once a week for the past year. Overall men were more likely to gamble than women, but women were more likely to gamble online (LaBrie et al, 2003). Athletes were no exception when it came to gambling. LaBrie et al’s study discovered that athletes heavily participate in gambling. Many athletes bet on sports and played games of chance more often than nonathletes. Athletes who gambled were also found to have a greater gambling debt than nonathletes (Stuhldreher et al, 2007). The questionnaire done by Stuhldreher et al. showed that fraternity members were one of the most common gamblers. Roughly more than 50% of fraternity members gambled (Stuhldreher et al, 2007). A common factor was found between the majority of students who gambled. The National Center for Responsible Gambling states that: “Compared to students without gambling problems, students with gambling problems are more likely to use tobacco, drink heavily or binge drink, smoke marijuana or use other illegal drugs, drive under the influence and have a low GPA.” This statement agrees with LaBrie et al and Stuhldreher et al studies that were conducted. It was noted that the participants in their studies that were gamblers fell into the category of individuals who were binge drinkers, marijuana smokers, and likely to use drugs.
With college being so impactful for new students, their mental health is bound to disrupted (Wickwire et al, 2007). A study conducted by Emerson Wickwire identified several demographic and behavioral relation in college students who gambled (Wickwire et al, 2007). The first behavior that was detected was the frequency of gambling done by older college students. It was found that upperclassmen were engaging in gambling more often than younger students (Wickwire et al, 2007). As a result, Wickwire et al noticed that the students addiction grew stronger and many students began to see their grades deteriorate. Not only were their academics harmed, but it was found that the students were also more likely to participate in risky behavior (Wickwire et al, 2007).
Once gambling becomes an addiction for an individual, it can begin to take over an their life. Gambling is a very expensive hobby, if done frequently. When it comes to being a pathological gambler, an individual can end up betting their entire monthly income just to satisfy their need for gambling. In an interview done by Weinstock et al. it was found that those who were pathological gamblers would wager more than 10.5% of their monthly income, when they only intended to wager about 6.1% of their monthly income (Weinstock et al., 2008). Medical research have discovered how the brain of a gambler operates similar to a person who ingested drugs (Nowak et al.,2014). Arguments in support of gambling state that gambling is a fun activity that seeks no reward , only as stress relief. Scientist used functional magnetic resonance imaging to see how dopamine, a chemical responsible for regulating human behavior is released causing an intense sensation to flood the brain of a gamble (Nowak et al.,2014). In the experiment performed by Donald E. Nowak, the release of dopamine indicated that gamblers do not seek pleasure from their addictive habit but the thrill of a reward (Nowak et al.,2014). Basically, a gambler can participate in gambling not because they truly enjoy it, but because they are intrigued by the thrill that they get.
A study conducted by Emerson M. Wickwire Jr et al explored the relationship between gambling stigmas and behaviors among college students (Wickwire et al, 2007). Similar to the method that was used to create my survey the team assembled a group contain three hundred and two college arraying from a variety of ethnical backgrounds (Wickwire et al, 2007). The results of the experiment supplied information of how college students viewed gambling, as well as, providing a detection pattern for predicting gambling behavior. It is estimated that approximately 75% of college students have partaken in illegal and legal gambling in 2010 (Nowak et al.,2014). In addition to the high percentage of college gamblers pathological gambling prevails in the college population (Nowak et al.,2014). A pathological gambler is are unable to control their behavior and spend a majority of their time gambling (Nowak et al.,2014).