The Social Impacts of Gambling

Gambling, in its broadest sense, refers to any act of betting with conscious risk-taking and expectation of gain on events with uncertain outcomes. When applied to games of chance, gambling typically refers to trying to win money or goods by betting on the outcome of games or contests but can also include sports events and horse races. Although gambling can be enjoyable at first, becoming addictive may lead to serious problems for people and their relationships as well as work performance or homelessness – not to mention negative impacts on family, friends, and coworkers as well as one’s wellbeing!

Though many are familiar with gambling, there remains an alarming lack of understanding regarding its risks and how to spot problems. This may be partly because advertisements for gambling products can often be highly visible through TV commercials, social media posts and sponsorship of sports teams or events; plus many are introduced through virtual environments such as online casinos or video games where players compete against each other for winnings.

Be it at a casino or virtual slots, many gamblers often spend too much time and money playing gambling games. To continue gambling, funds must be diverted from other important sources of income in order to stay playing; this often creates financial issues for both individuals and families that can be especially difficult to overcome in cases of addiction.

Gambling addiction can occur through various means, but one common form is through betting on sports and other events. The high level of competition combined with the potential to make substantial sums can make gambling irresistibly tempting, particularly for people with low levels of self-control. Furthermore, heavy promotion of gambling through sports events and social media could normalise it among young people.

Studies of gambling’s effects tend to focus on its economic costs and benefits, which are relatively easy to measure; studies that examine other social impacts (i.e. costs that cannot be quantified in financial terms) are less prevalent.

These social impacts may occur on three levels (Fig. 1). At the individual level, emotional distress and relationship problems that have long-term ramifications and can pass from generation to generation may result from gambling; at the interpersonal level these could include increased stress for significant others of gamblers as well as financial burdens that lead to food insecurity and lack of essential household spending; while on a societal/community level these could include diminished quality of life measured with disability weights or HRQL (health-related quality of life) weights; at lastly on an international scale gambling may have social effects at all three levels simultaneously if gambling was legalised – at all three.