What Is Gambling?

Gambling

Gambling involves risking money or other items of value in the hope of winning something of equal value. This could include a lottery, sports betting or scratchcards.

A decision: Before you gamble, think about the possible consequences of your action. Talk to someone you trust and decide whether gambling is for you.

Money: Before you gamble, set aside a fixed amount of money you can comfortably afford to lose. This can be a large amount of money or a small one, but it must be enough to cover you if you lose.

You can also learn to relieve unpleasant feelings in healthier ways, like exercise, playing a new sport or taking up a hobby. Doing these things can help to reduce the impact that gambling has on your life and relationships.

How to deal with a problem: If you have a gambling problem, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you identify irrational beliefs that are causing you to gamble and teach you skills to control your thoughts and behaviours. It can also help you overcome your urges and stop gambling.

The harms of gambling:

There is a lack of agreed and coherent interpretations of harms from gambling across treatment providers, policy makers and researchers. Harms are a complex issue that requires a more integrated approach to understanding and addressing them. This project aims to develop a more consistent definition of harm from gambling in a way that is meaningful and sensitive to the breadth of experiences of harms.