Gamblers now don’t need to travel to Atlantic City or Las Vegas to find the action they long for. They can find their relaxant in their own hometowns.

One of the fastest growing industries in the United States is legalized gambling. The number of off-track-betting parlors (OTBs) and riverboat casinos that dot the Midwest and the Mississippi Delta are the evidences of gambling’s remarkable popularity. There are many billboards depicting the excitement and action available at such facilities you can see on major highways.

Gambling is simply a fun and a form of harmless entertainment in the eyes of most of the industry’s customers. It is only for 4 to 6 percent of gamblers who become problem or pathological (compulsive) gamblers, which can be a harmful illness that negatively affects every aspect of their lives.

The difference between casual social gambling and pathological gambling:

In order to understand the difference between casual social gambling and pathological gambling we need to understand both by their proper definitions.

Gambling:

Gambling can be defined as playing a game of chance for stakes. There are many forms gambling occurs in. Most commonly are:

• Pari-mutuels (horse and dog tracks, off-track-betting parlors, Jai Alai)

• Lotteries

• Casinos (slot machines, table games)

• Bookmaking (sports books and horse books)

• Card rooms

• Bingo and the stock market

Pathological Gambling:

It can be defined as a progressive disease that devastates not only the gambler but everyone with whom he or she has important relationship. It was in 1980 that the American Psychiatric Association accepted pathological gambling as a disorder of impulse control. This chronic and progressive disease can be diagnosed and treated.