Hundreds, if not thousands of online gambling sites are now available to anybody who is prepared to face the risk of gambling online, but also the casino’s available in states and countries where gambling has been legalized, has multiplied greatly. This means, like drugs becoming more available, leading to drug addiction, more and more reported cases of gambling addiction are happening, more than ever before.

How could you tell if a friend or family member has been sucked into this phenomenon called, gambling addiction? Once you know what to look for, the experts say t’s not very difficult to spot patterns of behavior manifest themselves, in all the variety of ways they . It is also possible, though, that not all of the problems exist before someone could be classified as a gambling addict, but read on and we’ll share with you what we found. Oh and before you think black jack is worse than poker, or bingo is an innocent old people’s game and not nearly as bad as playing roulette and buying scratch cards, you’re totally wrong. It’s like an alcoholic that only drinks vodka is a worse or better alcoholic than one that only drinks whisky… all forms of gambling could lead to a gambling addiction of some sorts.

Drug and alcohol addiction also usually have an effect on the appearance, or looks, of the victim, either looking bewildered, pimpled or very badly neglected; just think of so many homeless alcoholics in every city all over the world. A gambling addict mostly will show no outward sign of suffering from this addiction and are many times outwardly very successful business people or even professionals. I used to know one whom I could not have imagined had the problem, until he showed me how much he had lost and ‘gambled away’.  The fact that they look all right does however not men they’re not living in their own form of hell, which any addict lives in. In fact, as long as they still have a job, a car and look OK, it is the last thing you’d expect.

One of the typical behavior is a change in their social habits, as they’d spend more time on the pc or away at the casino. People who come to visit are interfering in the pursuance of the activity and which is why they would isolate themselves and cut out friends from normal socializing  activities.

Sports betting is bigger than we think and that is one of the ways to spot a possible problem, in that an overly amount of interest in sports scores and how ecstatic or depressing their behavior becomes once the score is known. Major mood swings will show up much worse in someone whose got a financial result attached to the outcome of a cricket, soccer or hockey game and the worse that depression or ecstasy is, the more family members and friends should be watchful.

All of us have at times a cash flow crisis and might even tell a friend about it, but when someone who may not have a really good reason to have any cash flow problems starts showing signs thereof, it could be a sign of a gambling addiction in the making. The really bad cases are those where someone borrows more and more money, not pay it back as promised and then suddenly living it up with cash being flashed – let’s hope he’s paid you back before the party started!

Does someone you’ve known for years and years start to lie to you more and more? Imagine also the excuses a gambling addict may come up with for not being on time to attend meetings, submit reports or even show up for work. Worst case scenario is when you start missing expensive ornaments disappearing or valuable items getting sold or pawned.  I’m sure you could recognize many of these are symptoms you will also experience when dealing with a drug addict or alcoholic.

Imagine the body language of someone explaining why some of their things are mysteriously disappearing and they won’t call the police… or they tell you how they had to sell things even though there’s no one seriously ill, no car accidents or other obvious reasons for a financial crisis exist. There’s always a good chance they did that to pay off a gambling debt or to make new bets.

For the counseling psychologist who deals with these cases, it has become a whole new way to earn a living and there are many more signs, even a health condition or weight loss or weight gain, higher blood pressure etc. Besides many other signs we’ve tried to mention the most common symptoms of gambling addiction according to addiction professionals. If you see 2 or more of these symptoms in someone you know, you should immediately try to get this person to accept their problem and seek professional help.

A person who falls into a gambling addiction could land on the same scrap heap of life as a drug addict or alcoholic. It’s a monster that’ll overtake you and never leave you alone, unless you take drastic and pro-active action and hopefully you could help someone before they become fully cut off from friends and family… and broke.

Real poverty, hopelessness, joblessness and losing everything are the outcomes of addiction, whether it’s drugs, alcohol or gambling, if their addiction is allowed to go unchecked for too long. Studies have also shown a propensity for worse health, as it’s just one of the priorities they fail to attend to as the addiction worsens.

Talk to your doctor, who will be able to recommend you to a proper counselor and then you may also call gamblers’ anonymous or look up their website for more guidance in your area.