Problem Gambling in Adults: An Overview

As many countries are legalizing gambling, more and more individuals are presenting for treatment of gambling problems. Similarly, more sophisticated theories and therapies are emerging for the prevention and alleviation of problems associated with gambling. With this explosion of information on gambling, there is now a need to comprehensively summarize the available information. Therefore, the intention of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of problem/ pathological gambling in adults, with extensive review of epidemiological, aetiological and treatment variables involved in the development, maintenance and recovery from gambling problems. There is enough evidence to suggest that gambling results from a complicated interaction of affective, cognitive, behavioural and physiological variables. Given this interaction, a melding of treatment approaches, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), is advocated. Indeed, the available evidence supports the efficacy of CBT in the treatment of problems associated with gambling