The uncontrollable desire to regularly place bets has nothing to do with willpower or weak character of a person. This is associated with such a serious disease as gaming addiction. A player who has discovered this problem and wants to stop betting once and for all already deserves praise. Recognition of addiction and motivation to get rid of it is a necessary springboard for successful recovery. Next, we will give recommendations and tips that will help you forget and stop playing in bookmakers. But before that, let’s raise an equally important topic.
Causes of gambling addiction and its symptoms
Who is at risk:
- Dependent personality type.
For such a person, the form of addiction is not so important. It’s just that on his life’s path he came across not drugs, but a bookmaker’s office. By the way, gambling addicts are often addicted to alcohol too.
- Adrenaline junkies.
By placing a bet in a state of uncertainty, they receive a large dose of adrenaline, and anticipation gives a release of endorphins. It's like waiting for the New Year for adults - brighter than the holiday itself.
If a person wins, endorphins and serotonin literally flood his brain, he experiences incredible pleasure; if he loses, he falls into a pit of despair. To stabilize the condition, you need to make a bet to increase endorphin levels. This is how a person gets hooked on a hormonal swing, but no “peaceful” everyday activities give such emotions and he is not able to get out of the trap.
- Cognitive distortions.
A person seeking to make quick money has the illusion that big money can be obtained either by winning, or as an inheritance, or in some other quick and easy way. A person believes in success, a happy occasion, luck.
- "Bad Company"
. A certain circle of friends, a corresponding parental example carried over into adulthood, an excessive passion for sports.
Important Gambling addiction is a serious disease, its main symptom is losses. If you have already lost a lot of money, ruined relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, this is the main and sure symptom of addiction.
Signs and Symptoms of Sports Betting Addiction
Gambling addiction - sports betting - is a tricky disease, unlike other types of addiction, its negative consequences, especially in the physical aspect, do not appear so quickly. An alcoholic suffers from a hangover, a drug addict suffers from withdrawal, a food addict quickly gains or loses weight. But the gambler plays on the sly, sometimes once a month, some more often, some less often, it doesn’t seem like he loses that much, and sometimes he wins. What's wrong with this, it's just a variety of leisure activities for adults.
But if you experience several of these symptoms, this is a big red stop sign, and it’s time to stop playing games.
- Regularity.
You place bets regularly, you can’t live without it. You still control yourself and contact bookmakers no more than once a month/week/day and bet no more than a certain amount, but constant betting is a symptom of gambling addiction.
- Confidence.
Are you sure that you know exactly how to win.
- Meticulous analysis.
You constantly analyze sporting events and have all the major sports sites bookmarked. The player does not just analyze the match, he has already mentally bet on it. And where it is mentally, there it is in reality.
- Inability to switch for a long time
from the game to something else. Betting takes up more than half of your time, you constantly think about it.
- Refusal of other types of pastime.
You don’t go for walks with your child or to the movies with your wife, and you don’t meet loved ones. Every free minute is spent “usefully” - either analyzing a sports game or playing the game itself.
- Financial difficulties.
Unreasonable loans, credits, microloans, petty thefts, various types of fraud, etc., everything that can provide money for a new game.
- Psychological problems.
Feelings of guilt, lies to loved ones, self-pity, hysterical repentance.
- Panic attacks,
irritability, nervousness, if there is no opportunity to place a bet, especially “one hundred percent”.
- Aggressive behavior
During the game, a person loses his temper more and more easily when communicating with loved ones.
- Physical health problems.
Memory impairment, headaches, poor appearance, depression, insomnia, problems concentrating.
- The stakes are rising
both morally and financially.
- You can't interrupt the game
and unreasonably believe in the possibility of recoupment.
- From time to time you give promises
to yourself and your loved ones, whatever you decide, but these are nothing more than words.
Please note: This is the main and final sign of a strong gaming addiction - a person is unable to stop without outside help and requires treatment.
Causes of addiction
There are many factors that influence the emergence and development of gambling addiction, but the main one is the desire for easy money. Indeed, there is no easier way to earn money than to place a bet and win. Depending on the selected event, you can double your existing capital in just a couple of minutes. This has a strong psychological impact. Having received several wins and a resulting significant increase in the bank, the player will constantly keep in mind that it is possible to earn money through betting. An additional influence on the psyche is exerted by the ease with which money arrives in the account.
The second reason is the excitement that most players are exposed to. Driven by a gambling desire to make a profit, a person ends up in helpfully placed networks, from which it is very difficult to get out. Moreover, they are more dangerous not even for those who lose from the start, but for those who immediately begin to win. The bet amounts grow in proportion to the bank and when the white bar gives way to black, it becomes incredibly difficult to stop wanting to win back.
The third reason is emotions. Betting in a bookmaker's office is gradually turning into a supplier of adrenaline, which is so often lacking in everyday life. The emotional surge that the player experiences becomes a drug. The desire to experience similar feelings again becomes a reason for new and new deposits, even in the absence of a positive result.
The fourth important factor is lack of purpose. The desire to earn money is quite understandable and understandable, but how many specific monetary units are needed is something most players cannot formulate. Winning 100 thousand becomes not an obstacle, but an incentive for further play. Over a long distance, the previously won amount steadily decreases, and the balance of most users in relation to bookmakers becomes negative.
Predisposition to bet
Here is an average portrait of a gambling addict: Dependent personality type, belongs to the middle class, often family. Most often a man. Yes, a gambling addict may be a young, unemployed, lonely student, but what is typical for everyone is dissatisfaction with their social status and financial situation. There is a strong desire to feel significant, whole, to be on top of the world at least once. And it seems to him that a big win can give this feeling of victory, and the person does not notice how gambling addiction develops, sports betting overshadows real life and gradually destroys it.
Alarm beacons
Psychologists working with gambling addicts name several signs of an emerging addiction. If you notice something similar in yourself, draw reasonable conclusions.
You bet on any event
Uncontrolled betting on sports and participation in all games and sweepstakes offered by the bookmaker are the first obvious signal of the onset of gambling addiction . This behavior has nothing to do with making objective forecasts. For a bettor, the type of sport, the names of teams, and even the type of outcome on which he bets no longer matter. The betting process itself is of paramount importance. He bets often and on everything, and constant losses no longer upset him as they might have done before.
You're trying to get even
Lost a bet and immediately place a new one in the hope of getting back the lost money? This is another symptom of gambling addiction! Constantly increasing the size of the bet in order to compensate for the entire loss at once is a utopian idea in most cases . Usually the deposit ends earlier. And each subsequent bet becomes less thoughtful than the previous one.
You are betting on debt
This symptom indicates an advanced stage of gambling addiction. Remember: if you start playing against a bookmaker, count only on your money, and not your last! Their probable loss should not negatively affect the personal or family budget.
You make large and minimal bets
If you have money, bet the maximum, if you don’t have money, bet meager amounts. If this description is typical of your game at a bookmaker's office, you need to stop urgently! It makes no difference to such a player whether he wins or loses again: he is absorbed in the process itself, which brings him emotional satisfaction.
Friends and family criticize your addiction
Family and social problems are a direct consequence of gambling addiction. A person with a persistent gaming addiction may, over time, make a choice in favor of gaming rather than family well-being or normal relationships with friends. If your loved ones openly talk about your problem, you should listen to their words .
Stages of addiction development
The development of the disease occurs gradually, but everyone will have their own speed. For some, one evening at a casino or at the races is enough to become a full-fledged addiction, while others can persist for quite a long time, and the disease will develop over several years.
- Euphoric subcompensation.
The player will react to winning
differently
than any other person. He will be overly happy, incredibly happy even with a small victory, he gets incredible pleasure from the game, not even from the money, from the process itself, from the feeling of winning. - Losing stage.
Emotional dependence increases, and pleasure becomes less and less. At this stage, the person is obsessed with the idea of getting even at any cost; financial problems are added, negative patterns win.
- Disappointment.
A person begins to realize that he cannot win and make money on bets, but he can no longer refuse to play. From time to time, he is still warmed by flashes of hope and echoes of his former euphoria, but the former “honeymoon” with the game can no longer be returned; deep down, he understands that it is time to get rid of unhealthy cravings, but he cannot.
- Despair and hopelessness.
At this stage, what makes a gambler play is not the desire to win. It has left him, he goes to the bookmaker as if he were going to hard labor, the emotional swing has burned out all other pleasures, there are none left, and like a drug addict, he bets not to experience happiness, but to drown out the bitterness. He simply cannot do without the game and tries to illusorily enter a new cycle, feel the effect of euphoria, the joy of victory.
With the onset of each new stage, it becomes more difficult to get rid of addiction. Already at the second stage it is difficult to get rid of gambling addiction, and at the third stage you have to resort to the help of specialists and treat the addiction.
Quote The good thing about addiction is that you feel nothing but blissful intoxication, or high, or pleasant satiety. And compared to other feelings and sensations - say, with sadness, rage, fear, anxiety, despair and despondency - it generally seems almost the optimal choice.
Chuck Palahniuk
Consequences of addiction
Dependence on sports betting leads to dire consequences. Psychologically, gambling addiction causes mental disorders, depression, obsessive thoughts, irritability and neuroses. Physiologically, dependence manifests itself in problems of the digestive system (gastritis, ulcers and others). And of course, gambling addiction destroys connections with society (constant loans from friends and relatives) and causes problems with work (inability to complete tasks on time).
Examples of the consequences of gambling addiction:
In 2016-2017, FSB senior warrant officer Artur Khairullin, due to dependence on rates, sold the academy’s property for 7.2 million rubles. Everything was done to play the betting. The ensign sold the property entrusted to him within 1.5 years. In 2020, he confessed that he could not preserve state property. According to the plan, Arthur wanted to quickly sell the property, get rich, return everything back, and keep the difference for himself. After the first loss, he did not stop and sold more and more things to cover the old losses. As a result, the court sentenced the warrant officer to 4 years in a penal colony.
Anton’s story, taken from one of the forums where people addicted to betting gather. The idea to stop playing arose in his head when Borussia conceded a goal in the 89th minute, depriving him of the “iron” jackpot. He says that it is difficult for him to describe the feelings inside: “anger, regret, and the already boring belief that this is not true - now everything will be canceled, it’s offside or something like that.” Having lost again, he realized that it was a trap. But he immediately wanted to win back, but there was no suitable amount at hand - otherwise he would have bet again. The whole story of addiction began after one big win, when Anton “raised” several tens of thousands, and then believed that he was “invulnerable.” He says that after that he bet more and more often and more and more - not only the recent jackpot evaporated, but also his savings. After seeing his betting history and how much money he had spent, he was determined it was time to fight his addiction.
According to statistics, up to 1.5% of the country’s adult population suffers from gambling addiction. These are people who are already seriously susceptible to the disease and need treatment. Those who are just getting involved in the game or trying to bet small amounts much more are also in a potential risk group.
Treatment for sports betting addiction
The first step toward overcoming addiction is recognizing the problem. And secondly, giving up the game is not temporary, but forever. It sounds simple, but in reality, between these two steps there can be a road that can take years.
The dream of any addicted person who has taken alcohol; drugs; nicotine - take control of addiction. But this is impossible. A gambler cannot gamble responsibly, otherwise he would never have become a gambler. The first bet after the break is the first step into the usual abyss.
The idea that this time everything will be different, that he will be able to stop in time is nothing more than an illusion
A psychologist who knows how to treat this problem will help you overcome addiction. Unlike other addictions, gambling addiction practically does not require medications; in rare cases, antidepressants may be prescribed.
In Europe and Russia, gamblers' anonymous clubs (similar to Alcoholics Anonymous) are gaining popularity. These are both online projects and offline communities where people with gambling addiction can meet, chat, talk about their problems, ask for help and support, and find out the names of specialists who can help cure addiction.
Overcoming addiction on your own
Overcoming addiction on your own is possible, in a small percentage of cases; to do this, you need to take the test that we gave above, and determine the extent of the problem, and then completely abandon bets. Try to establish a healthy routine. Sleep more, exercise, drink clean water.
This is banal advice, but sports and the correct daily routine allow you to put in order the production of neurotransmitters, rid the body of adrenaline and improve the production of serotonin without additional stimuli.
Psychologist's advice
- Remove all applications and accounts at bookmakers, and avoid bookmaker offices.
- Try playing for virtual money - this advice is suitable if the addiction is not yet very strong.
- Find a new hobby, stop analyzing sports, don't follow sports at all for a while.
- Try to be useful, try yourself in volunteering - by helping others, we help ourselves, you can feel needed, strong, rich - not physically, what is more valuable - mentally.
- Ask your loved ones for help, agree that under no circumstances will they lend you money.
- Sign up for communities of former gambling addicts, this will help you not to relapse; people who themselves have gone through addiction will be able to find words of support in the dark period of “withdrawal.”
If all the above measures do not help, contact a psychologist, or it is better to start treatment from there.
Quote It’s a strange thing, I haven’t won yet, but I act, feel and think like a rich man, and I can’t imagine myself any other way.
F.M. Dostoevsky "The Player"
Start working with a psychologist right now
Start a consultation
Professional help from doctors
Psychologists and psychotherapists often encounter this problem and know how to treat addiction:
- To begin with, the specialist will try to find the reason why the person fell into addiction. This could be a disagreement with relatives, childhood experience, psychological trauma. The work will be aimed, among other things, at resolving this conflict and teaching the client skills to cope with stress using adaptive methods in order to cure the cause of the addiction and defeat it.
- Rationalism. Together with a psychologist, a person presents the whole picture of the disease in all its unsightly light, without trying to veil reality and trying to get rid of illusions.
- Cognitive-behavioral technique is an impartial study of a person’s thinking about sports, about betting, adjusting these thoughts and constructing further correct actions.
- Hypnosis. Sometimes a psychotherapist can heal a client using the Ericksonian hypnosis technique.
- Building new habits - the psychologist tries to introduce the addict to other positive aspects of socialization and jointly think through a plan for a healthy future without addiction.
Activities of bookmakers in the fight against gambling addiction
Strange as it may seem, bookmakers are not at all interested in having gambling addicts among their clients. Yes, they lose a huge amount of money, but they give a very bad reputation and negative image to the sports betting companies that provide these services.
As a result, such counters risk being closed and turning into an illegal field, which no sane businessman wants. Responsible players who don't ruin their lives are much more desirable clients.
Here's what agencies do to help people control their addiction:
- All websites and offline offices have information sections about responsible gambling.
- Many offices allow advertising of psychologists and psychological centers that will help cure addiction.
- Many sites implement special options when registering an account: you can set the maximum amount of money bet per day, the number of allowed bets, and the live playing time.
- Offices provide links to the websites of special international organizations that provide assistance to gambling addicts - Center for Ludomani, Gambling Help Online, Gambling Therapy, GamCare, etc.
- Persons under 18 years of age are not allowed to play.
- Many bookmakers have the ability to self-exclude or freeze an account.
The best ways to get rid of gambling addiction in a bookmaker's office
It’s not for nothing that gambling addiction is called the plague of the twenty-first century; it is quite difficult to recover from gambling addiction, and there is no single correct method. You can resort to the following methods :
- Psychotherapy for gaming addiction . It is possible to seek help from qualified specialists who conduct psychotherapy courses for gambling addiction.
- Communication with other gambling addicts as a way to get rid of gambling addiction in a bookmaker's office. There is an opinion that this is the best solution in the fight against addiction. Visit Gamblers Anonymous clubs or forums on the Internet.
- On your own without outside help . Recognize the problem, eliminate sources of temptation, switch to a hobby or work.
There is another alternative way to combat gambling addiction - weekly express bets and betting . It is suitable for players who do not want to take radical measures and want to try their luck without serious financial losses. Just place an express bet once a week or participate in a sweepstakes. You won’t have to give up the game completely, the risks will be minimal, and with proper luck, you’ll hit the jackpot.
conclusions
As a conclusion, here are the words of one of the dependent people.
“I’ve been losing money at bookmakers for 5 years, the last 2 years were especially unprofitable: about 1 million or more. Now I borrowed 400 thousand. All wages go to bets. The most interesting thing is that it always seemed to me, and even now sometimes it seems that I could quit at any moment, although in reality this is not the case. Relatives and friends don’t know.
A spoonful of honey is that in 6 months I will pay off my debts if I save hard and don’t bet anymore. There were short breaks lasting a couple of months, why did you start again? I can't find an explanation... The mood after losing bets is below zero. Complete depression, and this affects others.
And the absolute opposite when you win: euphoria, it seems that you can do anything in this life. I’ve never understood drug addicts and alcoholics, but in fact, I myself am an order of magnitude worse.”
The information presented in this material is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional advice from a physician. If you notice signs of gambling addiction, consult a specialist!
Author: Editorial staff of the Help-Point.net portal
What is gambling addiction in bookmakers?
Betting on sports in bookmakers is a source of vivid emotions, pleasure and profit, but betting can also cause all the troubles, drive a person into a deep hole of debt and lead to gambling addiction.
Gambling addiction or gambling addiction is a gambling addiction that manifests itself in frequent participation in games, regular loss of money, a constant desire to win back, as well as a decrease in social, material, professional and family values.
Gambling addiction is comparable to alcoholism and drug addiction, leads to moral degradation of the individual and often ends in thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts . Today we are talking specifically about bookmaker bets, but addiction to casinos, poker, slot machines and other gambling hobbies is not much different from a pathological addiction to betting. The causes and symptoms are the same.
Gambling addiction is a very serious problem that is not given due attention in post-Soviet countries; we have not developed a betting culture. It is extremely rare to come across social advertising that warns of the consequences, or offers to help gamblers, because this can scare off the influx of new customers to bookmakers; this is not beneficial to anyone.
