Gambling, Compulsive

The term gambling is understood as risking something that has value, such as money, on any sort of event that has a chance outcome. Individuals may gamble on card games, dice games, casino machines or bingo, lotteries, the stock market, animal races or sporting events, and various other betting activities for money or something else of worth. With the high frequency of Internet use in recent decades, Internet gambling has become the fastest-growing way in which to gamble.

Gambling behavior may be categorized as social gambling, which is gambling for recreation or entertainment purposes and involves the ability to maintain control over the amount of money, time, and energy spent engaging in the gambling behavior. Gambling behavior may also be categorized as compulsive gambling, also referred ...