Gambling impacts can be observed at a variety of levels – personal, interpersonal, and community. Some of the effects of gambling are more extreme than others, including social, financial, and health consequences. Some of these consequences are so severe that they affect entire families or communities, or are so widespread that they can lead to homelessness or bankruptcy. While the impacts of gambling may not be as obvious as the effects of illegal activity, they are nonetheless significant. In this article, we’ll discuss how these impacts can be determined and the solutions to these problems.
Research on the impact of gambling suggests that it contributes to social problems and increases the demand for social services. Increased access to gambling has been associated with increased problem gambling rates, and casino locations have been linked to social inequality. Gamblers from lower-income households lose more income to gambling, and those from higher-income households spend more money on it than do those from poorer households. It has been estimated that 12.6% of all gamblers lose their household income, and the social costs of gambling are significant.
In addition to economic losses, problem gambling can affect employment. It can result in absenteeism, poor work performance, and even termination. Many problem gamblers report that their gambling negatively affects their work performance and productivity, and they are frequently absent from work to gamble. In Finland, treatment-seeking gamblers rate their job performance, fatigue, and distractions. This is a significant problem, which warrants immediate intervention. Further, research is needed to determine the extent to which problem gambling affects employment.
However, the impacts of gambling are also significant in other areas. Increased violence and driving while intoxicated have been associated with casino expansions, and an increase in crime and tourism are contributing factors. Research also shows that pathological gambling costs the public, resulting in an excess of $1000 in police costs per person. Problem gambling also leads to increased crime and costing the prison system between $51 million and $243 million per year. It is not entirely clear whether gambling reduces crime, but the impact on public services is still considerable.
Gambling has become a major international industry. In 2009, the legal gambling market was valued at $335 billion. Gambling involves wagering money on an event with uncertain results. Some people may even be addicted to it and struggle to stop. This addiction can be difficult to overcome if it has reached a severe stage. Some countries have strict laws against gambling, but legal gambling is widely available throughout the world. If it is legal, it is generally highly regulated.
Using economic cost-benefit analysis, researchers can determine whether gambling has positive or negative effects on communities. While this approach is commonly used to measure costs associated with alcohol and drugs, it fails to recognize the positive effects of gambling. The harms of gambling are often underestimated because it fails to take into account the benefits of gambling. It may also ignore the negative impact on nongamblers. So while gambling is not the only effect on society, it does affect society in many ways.