Why do people gamble? Well, why do we do anything in life? The reasons why someone gambles can be many – just like we can have many and varied reasons to play football, get married, eat cookies, do aerobics, drink alcohol, knit jumpers, or go to church.

When someone develops a gambling problem, the answer as to why the problem developed is rarely straight forward. Often, it involves a multitude of factors. This complex muddle of factors is also one of the reasons why it can be so difficult to break away from problematic gambling addiction – even when the person realizes that the habits are harmful.

On the surface, it can look as if the individual is gambling simply to make money. But if we look closer at the habits of a gambling addict, we see that even when he or she does win big, that doesn’t solve anything. Typically, that big win will be spent on gambling in no time.

To understand why someone continues to gamble even when it hurts them, we must look at the whole situation – and the whole person.  Gambling addiction is often tied to problems in other parts of the individual’s life.