What are a few of the potential harms that gambling can cause?
- Money and Finances - When someone is gambling too much, they might start struggling to pay their bills, or taking out loans and overdrafts to cover their spending. This can lead to financial stress. It might be tempting to try and chase your losses, but this often leads to even bigger losses.
- Work, Relationships and Social Life - When someone shows signs of problem gambling, it might start to impact their performance at work, their personal relationships, and their social life. Gambling has the potential to become an addictive behaviour. This means it can lead people to act in ways that might seem ‘out of character’ or feel hard to explain.
- Mental Health and Emotional Stress - Gambling can have an impact on how you feel, regardless of how much you do it. People who experience gambling harms often feel like they have little or no control over it, which can lead to feelings of guilt, shame and low self-esteem. They might also worry about how their gambling is affecting others, experience feelings of anxiety or depression, changes to their sleeping pattern, and mood swings.