What is problem gambling?

What is problem gambling?

Problem gambling is a pattern of gambling behaviour that causes harm to an individual's personal or family life, work, finances or health.

For signs of problem gambling, see Questions for Gamblers or Questions for Family Members

The advantage is always with the house over the long term. That's how they make their money. The longer you play, the more likely you are to lose. Gambling venues are in business to provide a service, at a cost to the players.

Games such as roulette, slots, lotteries and bingo are truly random. You cannot predict what will happen based on what happened before. What looks like a "streak" or a pattern is just chance; randomness is like that.

Games such as horse racing, sports betting, blackjack and other card games have an element of skill, but not enough to overcome the chance factors, or for people to win consistently over time.

Luck does not "even out" over time.

Did you know?

• The odds of being struck by lightning is 600,000 : 1
• The odds of winning Lotto 649 is 14,000,000 : 1
• The odds of winning Super 7 is 21,000,000 : 1

Risk factors for developing a gambling problem

There are some factors that make people more vulnerable to a gambling problem:

• Growing up with gambling or starting early
• Growing up with addiction in the family
• An early big win
• Easy access to gambling
• Mistaken ideas about the odds
• Financial troubles
• Loneliness, boredom, unhappiness, isolation
• Substance abuse or mental health problems
• A tendency to be impulsive
• A tendency to overspend

These factors are particularly risky in combination. For instance, a person who is feeling isolated and unhappy and has an early big win is more likely to get into trouble than a happy person is with the same win. The more of these factors a person has, the more vulnerable they could be to problem gambling.

Download the CAMH Gambling Screen (PDF only)

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