Is Problem Gambling Keeping You from Financial Independence?

Do you have times when it feels as if you are pushing a rock up a hill – and getting nowhere fast? This can be how it feels financially, if you or your loved one is suffering from disordered gambling.

August 14, 2024, is National Financial Awareness Day. It’s a good reminder to take a look and see if gambling is keeping you from financial stability. When gambling is no longer a game, it becomes very difficult to keep track of where the money is going. As the addiction progresses, the money situation becomes more and more convoluted.

Most people who choose to gamble can do so safely and as a form of entertainment. Setting and sticking to limits of time and money spent are hallmarks of responsible gambling. However, the development of a gambling problem – which is also known as the hidden addiction due to the lack of visible symptoms – can happen very fast without the gambler or their loved ones realizing how much money has been lost or how much debt has amassed.  

Someone who has developed a problem with gambling may say “this is my gambling money, and this is my bill money.” Over time, the pot of “gambling money” grows but never gets converted back to bill money. Looking in from the outside, it’s easy to see the problems that will arise, but the addicted mind is only concerned with staying in the action and continuing to gamble!

When the “gambling money” has been lost, the problem gambler may reason that they can “borrow” some money from the family’s savings account. They may also rationalize that it is for the greater good with unrealistic expectations about their chances of winning. Gambling addiction is so powerful that even if the gambler were to win a jackpot, he or she would continue gambling until that was lost, too!

Inevitably, the money is lost with no way of replacing it. This begins a vicious cycle of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” – until it doesn’t work anymore. What starts as “borrowing” from the savings account turns into taking out loans, pawning possessions, cashing out the 401k, skipping car or mortgage payments, and even illegal acts – all to finance continued gambling. Because money is the drug that feeds the addiction, the gambler’s family is often severely impacted. It is not hard to imagine how an average of 8-10 other people are affected for every case of problem gambling.  

Each year, the FCCG completes its HelpLine Evaluation Survey to gauge the effectiveness of the service. Ninety-three percent (93%) of gambler survey respondents this year reported decreased gambling behaviors following contact with the 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine! When looking at both gamblers and loved ones who contacted the HelpLine this past year, the majority of survey respondents (86%), reported that they were currently feeling better since contacting the HelpLine, 87% reported significant improvement in their relationships at the time of the survey, 80% reported improvement in their finances, and 89% were more optimistic about their future.¹

¹ The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc. 24-Hour Confidential and Multilingual 888-ADMIT-IT Helpline Evaluation Survey 2023-2024. 8 Aug. 2024.