ADDICTION

Addiction is a big problem. You can be addicted to many things-- drugs, alcohol, cell phones, certain foods, and (oddly enough) gambling. Being addicted to gambling, is pretty much just as bad being addicted to anything else. Addiction always has bad consequences.

If you are addicted to gambling, you are considered a compulsive gambler. This is a type of impulse-control disorder. Compulsie gambling is when you can't control the desire to gamble, no matter how wrong you know it is. You just HAVE to do it. You can, however, just have a problem gambling instead of being a compulsive gambler. Problem gambling is just when gambling disrupts your life.

What are the consequences of gambling? Well, there a many things that could happen if you are a compulsive gambler. One consequence is that it could affect your relationship with other people. Also, it could become a problem with your responsibilities at home or at work. The worst thing about gambling is the money problems that you could be faced with. You can lose so much money from gambling, and get in alot of trouble with it too; such as stealing money to gamble or taking money from your family.

But if you have a gambling problem, you can get help!

"Rain Man"

The first movie I think about when I think about movies that involve gambling, I think of "Rain Man" with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. In the movie, Raymond Babbit (Dustin Hoffman) and Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise) are brothers. Charlie didn't know that he had a brother, though, until his father died and $3 million of his father's money goes to this 'unknown brother'.

Charlie's brother, Raymond, is an autistic grown man living at the Walbrook Institute. Besides being autistic, Raymond is very good with numbers. Card counting. This skill is also highly used while playing gambling.

Charlie, being his high-class self, realizes that his brother can do this. And Charlie is the type of guy that LOVES money. I mean, why else would he get so mad that his father fortune is going to someone he doesn't even know? So, Raymond is taken to the casinos to test this skill of his out.

He is VERY good. This is no joke. He can count cards, and win alot of money.

This movie is a good example of the reality of gambling. There are soooo many people who obsess over this and make their career gambling. How crazy is that? Really crazy.

21: a gambling movie

21 - Theatrical Trailer Movies & TV SPIKE.com

"21" is among one of the many movies that have to do with gambling, such as "Rain Man", featuring Tom Cruise, "The hangover", and "oceans 11." In the movie "21" a young guy named ben cambell is a incredibly intellegent student at MIT. He realized that he doesn't have the money to go through the rest of his college career,he wants to go to harvard, so this leads him struggling to find 300,000 dollars! While dealing with his struggle, he runs into an unortodox math professer and his secret club of five students. These students are being trained in the skill of card counting in black jack. Ben joins this group and goes to many secret trips to Las Vegas to play Black Jack using hand signals and certain looks at each other to let the others know whats going on. They make tons of money doing this. Ben only wants to be in it until he makes enough money for school. But one of there excursions leads to the casino watching them due to a grudge agains profesor rosa, causing him to loose all the money he earned. I would highly reccomend this movie to you if you would like to see more on gambling!

You do the crime, you do the time

Gambling could end up being a crime. In 2007, there were 12,200 arrests that involved gambling. It is a little difficult to think of ways how gambling is a crime because gambling is just a game. But, there are ways of it being a crime if you aren't careful.

If you are a serious gambler and have a problem, then you are more likely to commit crimes involving gambling. The crimes that can be commited are crimes like embezzlement or writing bad checks to get money.

According to an Australian study, about 36 percent of gambles in treatment programs had committed crimes that contributed to their gambling addiction. Crimes such as substance abuse (drugs, alocohol, etc.) can also be related to crimes involving gambling. This must be because of the environment you are exposed to at casinos.

Besides being immoral, gambling can also illegal. So, be careful!

Russian Gambling

You can find gambling everywhere, even in Russia. Moscow, the capital of Russia, has alot of concern about the rise of "surrogate" gambling, like lottery machines and online gambling. Three months before, gambling was almost totally BANNED in Russia. Moscow deputy mayor, Sergei Baidakov, said that this gambling is "the byproduct of imperfect legislation." Gambling must be a serioius problem over there...

The industries in Russia have made changes that involve gambling, as well. About a third of the 525 casinos and slot machine halls in Moscow opened "lottery parlors" so people can instantly buy lottery tickets. Also, the amount of internet cafes that provide access to online gambling has risen threefold since July. That's alot more gambling.

After the Soviet Collapse in 1991, there were even MORE casinos and slot machines in Russia. By 2008, the industry provided 400,000 jobs and had a turnover of $3.6 billion.

Despite the fact that so many people loved gambling, the government decided to do something about it. The police recently seized 33 slot machines and 35 underground casinos were shut down. I think it's good that Russia is cutting back on all the gambling. And so does Alexandra Tarpischeva, a sales woman at a deli next door to a slot machine hall. She said, "It's a lot quieter here now, after all those weird gamblers disappeared."

Is gambling moral?

Although, gambling is not a sin, it is, however, morally unacceptable. The Bible just talks about the love of money, but The Catechism of the Catholic Church directly approaches the concept of gambling. It says, "Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant." (CCC 2413).

Basically what the Catechism is saying is gambling is immoral if you get so addicted you can't provide enough money for basic necessities. And if it becomes a problem, it could be going against the second commandment, "you shall have no others gods before Me," because you could treat gambling like a god.

So, if you want to try gambling, don't get addicted!

New Gambling Law in Alabama

Gambling is illegal in many places. More recently, gamling has been banned in Alabama. There are many provisions to this law, such as: Simple gambling, promoting gambling, conspiracy to promote gambling, possession of gambling records in the first degree, possession of gambling records in the second degree, defense to prosecution for possession of gambling records, and many many more provisions. You can find the rest of the provisions of this law here. Many people are outraged about this law, especially the part of the community that considers gambling one of their most prized hobbies.People on a local radio station, WABB, even made a mockery of it by singing a parody making fun of the new laws. Recently, there were four arrest having to do with gambling.

Gambling and The Bible

Some people are confused as to whether gambling is a sin or not. However, the act of gambling is NOT considered a sin. The Bible never specifically says gambling, betting, or being involved in the lottery is wrong. But we do associate these things with money and the idea of getting rich.

1 Timothy 6:10 states that "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." This is saying that if you love money too much, it can become an evil thing. And people end up regretting what they do involving gambling.

It also says in the Bible: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5). This just means that you should not worry so much about money and be happy with what you have, because the only thing you really and truly NEED is God and he will never leave you.

So, gambling is NOT a sin. You just need to moderate in playing it.

Josh Axelrad: Gambling Addiction

Many people have a serious problem with gambling. Out of these people, Josh Axelrad is a good example of someone with a problem. He is thirty-five years old and is considered a professional card counter and blackjack player. He was a member of a gambling team called "Mossad" for five years.

All the members in his gambling team had different roles. The positions were spotters, who would keep track of the cards until the odds were titled to benefit the bettor; controllers, who were responsible for odds and strategy; and B.P.'s (big players), who would start placing large bets.

Along with being obsessed with gambling, Axelrad wrote a book about it called "Repeat Until Rich: A Professional Card Counter's Chronicle of Blackjack Wars." In this book, he estimated that he won about $700,000 for Mossad. However, after his five-year career with this team, he became addicted to online poker and went broke. Surprisingly, he gave up gambling for years.

Being a professional card counter, he says counting cards in not illegal and some casinos ENCOURAGE it. The only thing casinos don't like about card counters is if they're good enough to win.

Josh Axelrad was so obsessed with gambling, he went to a casino one time and acted as if he was mentally disfunctional. He has also acted like he was drunk and on drugs. He was won lots of money, and lost lots of money. It is still a big problem and very addicting.

gambling statistics

Gambling is a big issue in America. Gambling can be done in the form of games, betting on sports, and lottery tickets. According to gallup.com 17% of americans claim to have put money on a professional sports game. That one in six americans! Also, men are more likely to gamble than women; 75% of gamblers are men, and 57% are women. Although gambling seems like a fun way to possibly win money, it also can lead to problems. A poll on gallup.com states that "Twelve percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say gambling has been a problem for someone in their family, compared with just 4% of those aged 50 and older." Also, gambling can lead to some seriouis debts! Here is a poll that sums up some more gambling statistics.