Introduction Have you ever been at the convenience store, buying some necessities for the day, and spent your two dollars change on a pull-tab? If so, you have experienced the thrill of gambling. Gambling is not just restricted to pull-tabs in a store though, as gambling can be defined as wagering something of value on an event with an unknown outcome to potentially achieve a desired result, usually resulting in winning money. While this may seem like a meaningless act to get rid of some pocket change to most, some individuals spend most of their days hooked on playing the game of chance. Gambling disorder is the inability to resist the urge to gamble. Problem gamblers do this despite the knowledge of continuous negative consequences related to their gambling, or the inclination to stop. The issue of gambling disorder in Canada is a concern, as studies show it is on the rise. Data on the prevalence of problem gambling in Canada in the mid-1990s show proportions of pathological gamblers ranging from 1.2% to 1.9% (Ladouceur, 1996). Interpolating to the Canadian population in 1996, that equates to a total of between 346,161 and 548,088 problem gamblers (Statistics Canada, 2017). Comparing that to the 12-month prevalence of 2.0% in 2005, interpolation yields a total of 632,258 problem gamblers (Cox, Yu, …show more content…
Unfortunately, this leads to many problems in life. Problem gamblers have a higher incidence of suicidal ideation, as well as suicide rates. They also tend to be deeper in debt, which could potentially lead to homelessness. Given this, gambling disorder not only influences the individual but also others around them. Fortunately, there are many signs and symptoms of gambling disorder that are detectable, as well as many screening scales and indices that can help individuals realize the extent of their