What cause a person to become intensely addicted to gambing?

Any sort of addiction hijacks brain chemicals and behavior patterns. Substance abuse is fairly easy to recognize, and it makes sense even to the naive: adding substances and chemicals into the body will alter homeostasis.

So how does gambling alter brain chemicals? The (behavior) and the act of gambling alters the pleasure center, the reptilian center and takes over the command center in the frontal lobe which is responsible for impulse control.

There are two types of gambling: euphoria (action packed like table games and sports) and escape (slot machines and internet gambling).

There are certain set points that (I believe) trigger the addiction to reach critical levels.

Here is an example:

The first is a a big win from the onset of participating in gambling. You go to a casino - the overwhelming lights and obnoxious sounds, people running around in seemlessly haphazard fashion, alcohol flowing; all are geared to raise heightened awareness and gain your attention. It’s also a place of chance. Opportunity. It’s entertainment. It’s a place to dream “what if….”

After a particularily boring day, you are seeking something different, some socializing or just anything other than going home to do routine. You want to change it up a bit. You gather the courage to enter the local casino. You’re too intimidated to play table games so you decide slot machines are the lessor of the two evils.

You sit down to a machine and put a $20 bill into the bill validator of a slot machine. You have no idea what to expect, and likely have little knowledge of odds and house advantage. You pull the handle (another psychological ploy that triggers, too long to go into here) or push the button. The wheels spin, the pretty colors flash before your eyes, and the bells go off and…nothing happens. You lost your first bet. You continue pushing the button or pulling the handle until you’re down to your last $1.25 play. You pull the lever (rather dejected from this stupid gambling stuff) and as the wheels slowly stop spinning and the colored lights flash brighter, the bells sound LOUDLY, the machine appears to go into chaos. JACKPOT WINNER!!!! You find you just won $1,500!!! Cash money! CALL ATTENDENT!! flashes across the screen. The gamblers all around you suddenly stop playing to see what you won. The people walking by take pause and gather, surrounding you in a semi-circle to see what a winner looks like. You are an instant celebrity!! Some pat you on the back, others shake your hand, people are yelling, YOU WON!!! YOU!! The cockatil server suddenly appears from nowhere and asks if you’d like a shot or a special drink to celebrate. The adrenaline is on high alert. You feel like you just ran a race or someone frightened you and then made you laugh. Happy!!

And finally the slot attendent comes to pay you your winnings. He/she counts the bills out in slow fashion, all large and maybe $200 or so in smaller bills in hopes of getting a tip.

You feel and smell the money in your hands. The money is magical. It buys things. It buys freedom. It buys celebrity. Everyone is now paying attention to you. The staff is coming by to check on you, maybe a player representative comes by and asks if you’d like to be part of the “special player’s club” and earn rewards, another comes by and asks if there is anything you need. You are now important.

You tip the slot attendent $50, the cocktail server $25, you are now the winner. You are generous, popular, you have what it takes to get more, and more and more…and you have money to play more, win more, buy more, more freedom, more, more, more….

The chemicals are surging.

Feel that feeling. Really feel it. Feelings are indicators of chemical reactions. Those chemical reactions travel and forge all sorts of pathways in your brain. Gambling paths are like freeways, nothing like country roads, and the chemicals are fast moving, you experience intense pleasure washing over you in a heightened state, your reptilian brain (the part responsible for impulse control) is hijacked and the frontal lobe responsible for judgement has been compromised.

Life is messy. Everyone copes in different ways. Unfortunately gambling happens to be one of the ways.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about gambling and my husband have been asking when we will go again, it had been a while since we went to the casinos on his and my birthdays and I have not forgotten how hard it is to get away from this addiction. I know to stay stopped I have to be diligent in working my recovering and staying close to this forum. This is another article that catch my eye this morning.

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Depending on the level of intensity you experience during gambling (especially the first time) is what I believe contributes to the intensity of the addiction.

Not everyone experiences this level of euphoria. We are bio-individuals. Some of us can win and walk away and feel nothing. Others of us play for escape, entertainment, feelings of euphoria, feelings of invinciblity, power.

And the chase is on.y

(Lack) of something in life is typically what draws many in and holds that magical spell.

This is a very elementary explanation. Addiction to gambling is not elementary by a long shot. It’s vicious and very difficult to arrest. If you are in trouble seek help, please.
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-- Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:42 am --

The above article caught my eye and it was something I read this morning. Lately I have been thinking a lot about gambling and my husband had been asking when we will go to the casino again. It was a while ago on his and my birthday, win a little money but I did not forget how hard it is to stay stopped and will have to be diligent in my recovery. I will stay close to this forum and be aware of the directions my mind is pointing now.

That was an amazing post.

Thank you for taking the time to post it.

All the best to you today

You are most welcome uskat, I too thanked you for your past contributions, it really help me in my recovery when I was actively gambling with my husband, zooming from one casinos to another, wasting an enormous amount of time and money and breathing in second hand smoke and we are non smokers instead of living life as we should, out in the nature and have a clear mind to enjoy and appreciate all the little and big things life have to offer.

We also tend to cope with the occasional difficulties in life much better instead of becoming frustrated or angry and take it as a challenge to be tackled instead of ignoring it or burying our head in the sand.

How are you getting on, guys? I`d like to play casino slots for real money online, but I`m not sure is it worth? I recently signed up for a casino without doing proper research. Stupid I know. I deposited £215 in total and then attempted to withdraw £260. The withdrawal is stuck on pending and I cannot contact the company. I have now seen this casino is blacklisted.  I don`t want to make the same mistakes, so I need your help, guys)

Welcome to the forum Hojoos,

Considering that you are contemplating gambling and posting it on a Gambling Addiction forum, you will get a very one sided answer. If you gamble and you are able to control it like most of the population, it is perfectly fine. However, if you find yourself spending more time gambling and it starts affecting other areas of your life, you should stop right away? Is it worth it? Definitely No. You don't want to even start this path that many of us have taken.

As for the online casino, some casinos may hold on your money for sometime before letting you withdraw it especially if there was a bonus associated with it. If the site was blacklisted, they may have been doing even shadier stuff and you may be out of luck. I hope for your case that after the few days, you are able to get your money out and I hope you never put it back in.

ok, im agree with u