Gambling Addiction

by John Myhill

1) The poorest lose what little they have because of their addiction, but poverty is not the cause of this.

2) A few people become very wealthy through gambling. Not just those who exploit people with a gambling addiction; but also who gamble successfully on Bitcoin, or the stock market, futures market or currency market. Those who lend money/invest successfully, including a few people who manage to make money from a new invention/idea or patent (though usually it is those who invest in the new idea, who make the money: not Stevenson on the Railways but Rothschild, not Turing computers but Microsoft). “What use to gain the whole world and loose your own soul”. The successful gambler is no less afflicted by their addiction than those who lose everything. 

3) If you value the work you do as an end in itself, you may well not want to get something for nothing. If this is the case it is unlikely you would become hooked on gambling, as it would not interest you in the first place. This is clearly true of other forms of addiction.

4) I have only known a few addicts, who escaped addiction, and they all did it by accepting: a) That only total abstinence can work. b) It will always be a daily struggle. c) It can only be done by reliance on a higher power and the support of others who are similarly recovering.

5) I have known people who became suddenly rich through gambling, but it was never enough, and they could not give up the need to carry on winning (the adrenalin rush is easier achieved by many sports activities). The only escape does seem to be when everything goes wrong – hit rock bottom.

6) Gambling, like all addictions is not a postcode lottery: it has a strong genetic input, and is assisted by a “something for nothing morality”; rather than one that encourages hard work, thrift and spiritual values.

There is no virtue in not succumbing to an addiction (I tried hard at University to become a heavy drinker, but cost, hangovers and boredom prevented me). The rich are as susceptible as the poor, and wealth is as successful as poverty, in creating addiction.

7) All risk taking is a form of gambling (cycling without a crash helmet, mending a roof without scaffolding, solo rock climbing, fighting on the front line). Yet the most common accidents occur in the home = awareness of risk makes us take care; except when the adrenalin rush is the reason for the activity. Feeling safe, increases risk. (All unnecessary risk may express a sub-conscious death wish. All fear of risk taking may lead to a life limiting phobia). Higher consciousness implies better ability to care for ourselves and others.

8) Following a Quaker leading has led many Friends to end up in prison. Some like Mary Dyer were hanged for their Quaker beliefs. She knew the risks, but it was not gambling, as she had no desire for personal gain for minimum work. The risk of inaction would have been to succumb to fear and lose one’s soul.