Gambling as we know it involves a lot of luck, some skill, and guesswork, but most importantly a sense of emotion. It is considered a type of addiction, because, the more you play the more you lose. The only true way to win at gambling is by not playing; therefore, any sense of excitement or accomplishment from your last bet is pure and unwavering pleasure and will make the experience all that more exciting. This may lead people to think that they are better human beings than other people because of their ability to lose as little as possible and still come out on top. It may also lead one to believe that they have no inhibitions and can gamble until they drop.
There are many types of addictions, however the most widely recognized are gambling addictions, Internet gambling addictions, and food addictions. Gambling is simply the action of betting something of real value on an occasion with an uncertain future with the intention of winning something else in the process. Thus, gambling requires three essential components for it to occur: risk, consideration, and a reward. In all other types of addictions the reward is what gets you to continue, so if you stop you will never get it again and will have to start over. This is not the case with gambling; with it you can continue as long as you like and you may continue losing money until you find yourself back in the situation you were in before.
Since there are many forms and degrees of gambling addiction, it’s hard to give a blanket definition of the disorder. Most experts would likely agree, however, that the most serious types of gambling addiction are often associated with those who gamble excessively and/or frequently, have multiple addictions, and those who are depressed, suffer from mental illness, or other factors that contribute to poor decision making, poor financial management, and reckless behavior. For those who only gamble occasionally, and are perfectly able to control their problem, this is probably not a true form of addiction. While this type of gambling addiction is more likely to occur among those who are mentally stable, those who are constantly gamblers are at a higher risk for developing gambling addiction.