Gambling Guide and Directory

Gambling Guide and Directory is a gambling resource website. What that means is that while you can’t gamble here, you can find information about some of the best gambling sites on the Internet and in the real world. You will find a ton of news about casino gambling, online gambling, blackjack, craps, poker, roulette, slots and much more!

Problem gambling (ludomania) is an urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. The term is preferred to compulsive gambling among many professionals, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler’s behavior. Severe problem gambling may be diagnosed as clinical pathological gambling if the gambler meets certain criteria. Although the term gambling addiction is common in the recovery movement pathological gambling is considered to be an impulse control disorder and is therefore not considered by the American Psychological Association to be an addiction.

Debate exists over how problem gambling should be defined. Research by governments in Australia led to a universal definition for that country which appears to be the only research based definition not to use diagnostic criteria:

“Problem gambling is characterised by many difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others, or for the community.”

Most other definitions of problem gambling can usually be simplified to any gambling that causes harm to the gambler or someone else in any way. However, these definitions are usually coupled with descriptions of the type of harm or the use of diagnostic criteria such as the South Oaks Gambling Screen, Canadian Problem Gambling Index or the Victorian Gambling Screen.