Gambling Addicts In Your Family?

Hi Everyone! I wanted to know if there are gambling addicts in your family. My father never gambled a day in his life, but my mother has gambled everyday for the past 54 years. I wonder if somehow I inherited this gambling gene.

My uncle is also a huge gambling addict. His rock-bottom was 8 years ago when a loan shark sent out a group of men to beat him to near-death when my uncle refused to pay a loan. He was in a coma for a while and never physically recovered.

My mother's cousin and his wife lost their two businesses and three homes due to their gambling addiction. Now they are both homeless.

That is so interesting, Fish! Would your mother go to the casino, and leave your father at home? If so, I would think they didn't spend much time together (or with you) if she was gambling every day.

I would also think that an addictive personality could be inherited, just like athletic ability, so your idea doesn't seem so far fetched to me!

I don't know of any other gambling addicts in my own family, and if they are, they're very secretive about it. There are some alcoholics, however.

Cheers...

My father was a gambler and alcoholic; my mother gambled too, but not as often....
I have 4 brothers and one sister; 3 of us could be considered problem gamblers and the other 3 (including sister) are not....I don't know if it is in the genes, but it sure doesn't help.....being exposed to "vacations" in Reno and Vegas at an early age did stoke my desire to get "big" so I could play those slot machines I saw grownups play....it sure seemed like fun to a kid, seeing and hearing all the bells and sounds of coins clanging into the metal trays....that's why I think so many people can't wait until they are of legal age to participate....most, I think do so even before they turn legal age....I actually started gambling in small and different ways when I was in junior high.....when I turned 21, and this was before the proliferation of Indian and local area casinos, I would drive 225 miles from California to Nevada where I could gamble in those casinos. I have always thought that we could have been considered almost a middle class family (with both parents working) but lived a lower class life because of all the money that went to gambling. I know I wish I had all the money back that I wasted most of my life gambling.......I realize now how some people who don't gamble, view a gambler as someone to be pitied, just the same as if he had a life threatening disease....

Spinster wrote:That is so interesting, Fish! Would your mother go to the casino, and leave your father at home?Cheers...

Hey Spinster! Yes, my mom would leave my two sisters and I all alone for hours on end. She was a terrible mom, and she still is. I kinda blame her for my gambling addiction, past alcohol abuse, and OCD. If my roots are rotten, I can't grow into a lovely person. But I try

Interesting how you also have alcoholics in your family. I always thought alcohol and gambling went hand-in-hand, but I know many gamblers who don't drink alcohol, and many alcoholics who don't gamble. It's good to be wrong sometimes.

-- Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:35 pm --

58gambling wrote:My father was a gambler and alcoholic; my mother gambled too, but not as often.... I have 4 brothers and one sister; 3 of us could be considered problem gamblers and the other 3 (including sister) are not....I don't know if it is in the genes, but it sure doesn't help.....

I feel your pain, as this all makes so much sense to me. It all seems too real, and I think it's in our genes. It doesn't make things better, but if it is genetic, it something we need to be aware of. It is a disease within us that we cannot feed. But this is always easier said than done