Most of the world’s population gambles. It’s just a form of entertainment that surrounds us all. Whether it’s billboards advertising it, or commercials sucking people in, you just can’t get away from it. Gambling though is a serious addiction and while it’s perfectly normal, there are certain things you should know before doing it. Gambling in most of the United States in 21 or over, with the exception of New York State, where it is 18 to gamble in a casino. Casino’s offer alcoholic beverages and simply don’t want anyone under the age of 21 drinking, which is the law in the USA. It would be crazy to to proof everyone, so that is why they don’t lower the age. They don’t want 18 year olds wasting whatever money it is they have on gambling too. You really have to watch what you’re doing when gambling. Sometimes you can get way out of line and blow a large amount of money in a short period of time. I’ve seen it happen before, whether it’s live, or on a TV show. You can be down a couple thousand dollars and not think anything of it, than be down tens of thousands and you start to feel it. Many people that lose that much money on gambling either are very lonely, depressed, or just have nothing better to do with there money. Most of the time is depression, and that is a serious illness. I remember my uncle telling me how he was playing Blackjack with someone who just had a fight with there wife. He was gambling $200.00 a hand, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but in a matter of an hour he had lost $20,000.00 +. The guy said he had a fight with his wife and needed to blow off some steam. My uncle said to him “aren’t you sick over this?” The guy said “Yes, but it’s too late now.” Most people would be sick over it.
The fact of the matter is gambling should be done with a group of friends. At least you’re having a good time if you lose a couple of bucks and other people can let you know if you’re going over your limit. You also don’t have the tendency of betting aggressive since your friends might ask you to come along and do something else. Normal people wouldn’t abandon there friends for gambling. If you come to think about it, gambling is just like any other addiction. Drug Addiction is a money waster, and it leads to other problems such as depression, etc. Setting limits is extremely important when it comes to gambling. As the famous poker saying goes… “Know when to hold em, and know when to fold em.” Normally what I do is bring a certain amount of money and leave the credit cards at home. That way I don’t have any way of going over my limit if I lose, and obviously it wouldn’t be a lot of money because the limit would be set so I would be comfortable enough to know it. Now I’m still young yet and have plenty of time to gamble if I want too, but I like to go out every now and then have a good time, with friends or family of course.
If you are having trouble setting guidelines for yourself, or finding it hard to quit while you’re losing a lot of money, then you may contact this website at http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ . This is out of California and they specialize in people with Gambling Problems.
