The most common characteristic of people who take part in surveys about casinos and gambling is loneliness. It presents regardless of the moral, ethical and political stance.
Nevertheless, many casino customers can be referred to as “light” people. I.e. they are looking for opportunities to have fun and maybe get some easy money. They also may be characterized as lovely, attractive, friendly, adventurous and without values of solidarity. Yet, lonely. They have a lot of free time and need to fill those living spaces and do not know how to cope, for example, with retirement.
Online casino staff, as in https://nztivo.net/casino/jackpotcity-casino-review/ , see such characteristics in their clients.
Substance use
Additionally, existential emptiness may be associated with alcohol and cigarettes. Based on their clinical experience, many therapists point out that they encounter gambling addiction with other habits.
Substance use is frequently associated with casino attendance. Casinos, like entertainment centres, are places where alcoholic beverages and food are central to their advertising or the reasons for attendance.
About gambling, there are two types: gambling for leisure and addictive. The former is defined as a regular activity in any person’s life. However, the latter can lead to massive issues.
Pathological gambling and substances
According to Sánchez Hervás (2003), pathological gambling shares many characteristics of substance addictions. For example, a study in Tegucigalpa found that 64% of gamblers use cigarettes, 70% use alcoholic beverages, 3% use marijuana and 2% use cocaine (Cruz et al., 2010).
However, more detailed research is still needed on the relationship of drinking and gambling (Ruíz-Pérez, 2009).
Another characteristic of casino customers and casino-goers is their perceived obsessive-compulsive behaviour. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2001), pathological gambling was considered a disorder due to a lack of impulse control.
However, in the latest revision of D.S.M. V American Psychiatric Association APA (2013), it is considered an addictive disorder.
In this regard, Arbinaga (2000) found mild or moderate depression levels in 54.6% of women with a gambling problem and 37.5% in pathological gamblers.
Religious representatives associate the practice of casino gambling with existential emptiness. Health workers who work with gamblers as patients associate it with personality characteristics and pathology.
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