STUDENT WRITING COMPETITION
20% eventually file for bankruptcy because of their gambling losses. 3 First recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980,12 pathological gambling has been recognized as a medical condition for more than three decades. 4 “A mental health provider may diagnose an individual with gambling disorder if the individual exhibits four or more of nine diagnostic criteria in a twelve month period and the individual’s gambling behavior is not better explained by a manic episode.” 5 Research has shown similarities between gambling addiction and drug or alcohol addictions in “expression, brain origin, comorbidity, physiology, and treatment.” 6 U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett analogized drug addiction with gambling addiction stating, “by physically hijacking the brain, addiction diminishes the addict’s capacity to evaluate and control his or her behaviors. Rather than rationally assessing the costs of their actions, addicts are prone to act impulsively, without accurately weighing future consequences.” 7 Gambling addiction or disorder is linked to numerous negative outcomes including financial, employment, relationships, and mental health. “Individuals with gambling disorder have
one of the highest rates of suicide attempt among individuals with addiction. 8 More than one in two disordered gamblers experience suicidal ideation and approximately one in five disordered gamblers attempt suicide.” 9 Gambling addictions also negatively impact the children of the addicts. “A parent or spouse can gamble away funds necessary to pay for groceries and household bills. Utilities are shut down, cars are repossessed, checking accounts overdrawn, credit cards are maxed out, expensive items are missing from the house, and the children’s college funds are depleted.” 10 Children can even be left unsupervised if their parent has gotten into gambling and has lost track of time. There are many cases across the United States where children have been left unsupervised for long periods of times due to their parents or guardians gambling in casinos and law enforcement got involved and some children were injured. 11 Deborah Bell, author of Bell on Mississippi Family Law, also discusses gambling addictions and how they play out when regarding children and custody determinations or even child support. 12 Gambling addiction can also lead to drug or alcohol addictions, known as a co-addiction. “In a study of 99 problem gamblers, 22% were also dependent upon alcohol.” 13 Authors Erica
3 Gambling Participation and Attitudes, Nat’l Council on Problem Gambling, https://www.ncpgsurvey.org/mississippi/. 4 Alan Ellis, Mark H. Allenbaugh, Robert Hunter, Douglas C. Crawford, Gambling Addiction Making the Case for Sentencing Relief , Crim. Just. 12 (Fall 2015). 5 Stacey A. Tovino, supra note 12 at 164. Citing the AM. Psychiatric Ass’n, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 585 (5th ed. 2013). The criteria include (1) Needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement; (2) Is restless or irri- table when attempting to cut down or stop gambling; (3) Has made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling; (4) Is often preoccupied with gambling (e.g., having persistent thoughts of reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble); (5) Often gambles when feeling distressed (e.g., helpless, guilty, anxious, depressed); (6) After losing money gambling, often returns another day to get even (‘chasing’ one’s losses); (7) Lies to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling; (8) Has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling; and (9) Relies on others to provide money to relieve desperate financial situations caused by gambling. 6 Id 7 Alan Ellis, Mark H. Allenbaugh, Robert Hunter, Douglas C. Crawford, supra note 13. 8 Gambling Participation and Attitudes, supra note 3. 9 Stacey A. Tovino, J.D., Ph.D., supra note 12 at 165 10 Cheryl B. Moss, A View from the Bench: Insight from Judge Cheryl B. Moss, Gambling and Health in the Justice System , 17-20 (Nat’l. Ctr. For Responsible Gaming ed., 2013). 11 Matter of Welfare of Child of A.M.M. R., No. A21-0901, 2022 WL 274744 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2022), review denied (Mar. 11, 2022). A mother left her children in a car for over an hour while she gambled in a casino. In re Ilayan , No. 339413, 2018 WL 910183 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 15, 2018). A mother left her children unaccompanied in a car while she gambled, and police found the children inadequately dressed for the cold weather and shivering. Hughes v. State of Okla., Ex Rel the Dep’t of Human Servs., No. CIV-21-1094-F, 2022 U.S. Dist. (W.D. Okla. Aug. 31, 2022). A mother left six children in the care of a 15-year-old where five children had special needs. One child was hurt and suffered fifth degrees burns on 25% of her body and the mother left for so long without checking on the children that the injured child was placed in a medically induced coma for injuries that did not receive medical attention. 12 Deborah H. Bell, Bell on Mississippi Family Law 13 Erica L. Okerberg & William N. Thompson, Problem Gambling: Costs and Best Practices for Mitigation , 6 UNLV GAMING L.J. 1 (2015).
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IMGL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2024
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