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Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• What is a gambling addiction?
• What are causes and risk factors for gambling addiction?
• What are symptoms and signs of a gambling addiction?
• How is a gambling addiction diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for gambling addiction?
• What are complications and negative effects of gambling addiction?
• Where can people get support for gambling addiction?
• Where can people find more information about gambling addiction?
• Gambling Addiction At A Glance
• Find a local Psychiatrist in your town
• Gambling Addiction Index

Although as many as one third of individuals who suffer from pathological gambling may recover from the disease without receiving any treatment, the potential devastation that compulsive gambling can wreak on the life of the suffer and those around him or her make the pros and cons of treatment clearly indicate that the potential positive aspects outweigh the possible complications that result from an intervention. As much as $5 billion is spent on gambling in the United States every year, with people who are addicted to gambling accruing tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Harmful effects that compulsive gambling can have on the individual include financial problems ranging from high debt, bankruptcy or poverty, to legal problems resulting from theft to prostitution, to wanting, attempting or completing suicide. Gambling addiction can have a multitude of negative effects on the family. Statistics indicate that families of people with compulsive gambling are more likely to experience domestic violence and child abuse. Children of problem gamblers are at significantly higher risk of suffering from depression, behavior problems, and substance abuse. One of the challenges of treatment of compulsive gambling is that as many as two-thirds of people who begin treatment for this disorder discontinue treatment prematurely, whether treatment involves medication, therapy or both.

Compulsive Gambling Center
924 East Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
1-800-LOST-BET (1-800-567-8238)
http://www.lostbet.com

Debtors Anonymous
General Service Office
P.O. Box 920888
Needham, MA 02492-0009
Phone: 781-453-2743
Fax: 781-453-2745
http://www.debtorsanonymous.org

Gam-Anon International Service Office, Inc.
P.O. Box 157
Whitestone, NY 11357
718-352-1671

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) International Service Office
P.O. Box 17173
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-386-8789
isomain@gamblersanonymous.org

Problem Gambling.com
24 Hours a Day
7 Days a Week
U.S. Gambling Hotline: 1-800-522-4700
Canadian Gambling Hotline: 1-888-391-1111

United States National Gambling Help Line
1-800-522-4700