Gambling Worldwide Presented by Cristhian Mora Patricia Natters Maddie Parker Edgar Quintero Caleb Winters

Why do People Gamble Too Much? For too many people, gambling is a simple form of entertainment. But to some others, it becomes an uncontrollable behavior. Problem gambling is recognized as a medical disorder by the American Psychiatric Association and has elements of addiction similar to alcohol and drug addiction. It describes a gambler who loses control over gambling behavior with damaging personal, social and financial effects. Problem gambling is a progressive disease, meaning that the symptoms will get worse over time. Mental health professionals see it as a complex disease often seen in conjunction with other disorders including depression and chemical dependency.

Types Of Gamblers  Professional : Gambling is his primary source of income; makes his living gambling.  Casual Social Gambler : Gambling is one of many forms of entertainment; gamble infrequently.  Serious Social Gambler : Gambles as a major source of entertainment; plays regularly at one or more types of gambling, and does so with great absorption and intensity.  Relief-and-Escape Gambler : Major activity in person's life of equal importance with family and business; but rest of life goes on without integrity being seriously impaired; more than a pastime.  Compulsive Gambler : Gambling is only thing in life; ignores family and business, and often turns to crime to support his/her habit.  Antisocial Personality : Life career is getting money by illegal means; those who gamble try to fix gambling games.

What Are Some Characteristics of Problem Gamblers?  Problem gamblers are more likely to be male than female.  Problem gamblers usually bet larger amounts on all forms of gambling.  Problem gamblers gamble more frequently.  Problem gamblers spend more time per gambling session.  Problem gamblers are more likely to have been in trouble with the police.  Problem gamblers are more likely to say they have been rejected by family members.

Warning Signs Behavioral Signs - Use of gambling as a way to escape problems or relieve depression. -Inability to stop playing regardless of winning or losing, and despite constant vows to abstain. -Restlessness or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop gambling. -Use of alcohol, sleep, or drugs to escape. -Lying to family members or others to hide the amount of gambling. -Belief when winning that it will not stop. -Gambling another day to win back money lost gambling.

Financial Signs - Financial difficulties often are the most obvious signs that friends and families notice. -Gamble until you have no more cash left in your pockets. -Chase your losses to win back money you lost. -See gambling as a real opportunity to make money. -Growing debts and unpaid bills. -Need financial help from others because of gambling. -Sell personal or family items to finance gambling. -Commit illegal acts to finance gambling.

Gambling Statistics  The gambling industry has grown tenfold in the U.S. since 1975  Thirty-seven states now have lotteries  15 million people display some sign of gambling addiction  Two-thirds of the adult population placed some kind of bet last year  Gambling profits in casinos are more than $30 billion while lotteries are about 17 billion annually.  "Players" with household incomes under $10,000 bet nearly three times as much on lotteries as those with incomes over $50,000  Gambling among young people is on the increase: 42 percent of 14-year-olds, 49 percent of 15-year-olds, 63 percent of 16-year-olds, 76 percent of 18-year-olds.  Internet gambling has nearly doubled every year since 1997 and in 2001 it exceed $2 billion.  The average rate of divorce for problem gamblers is nearly double that of non- gamblers.  The suicide rate for pathological gamblers is twenty times higher than for non- gamblers (one in five attempts suicide)  Sixty-five percent of pathological gamblers commit crimes to support their gambling habit.

Gambling Myths  Myth: People can predict if a coin is going to come up heads or tails when it is flipped. Fact: Each flip of the coin is an independent event. It doesn't matter what came up in the previous flip. The chances of heads or tails coming up in a single flip are 50 per cent, regardless of how many times you flip the coin.  Myth: There are systems that make it easier to predict winning lottery numbers. Fact: It doesn't t matter how the numbers are picked; your odds of winning are always the same. Take a lottery like Lotto 6/49 for example. All the numbers are put into a drum and then mixed up. The selection is purely by chance. Each number has the same chance of being selected (a 1 in 49 chance to be exact). Your chances of winning with one ticket are 1 in 13,983,816. That means there is no system for picking lottery numbers. It is all a matter of luck and luck comes in two varieties: good and bad.  Myth: People can generally win their money back if they have a losing streak. Fact: This is simply not true and casinos exist because people don't win their money back. Think about it: how long would a casino that paid out more money than it took in be able to stay in business? The fact is that gamblers lose far more money than they win in these places.

Is There Such A Thing As A Safe Bet?  All gambling or betting has an element of risk.  Lessen the chance you'll develop a gambling problem by: limiting the amount of money you bet limiting the amount of time you spend betting. continuing with other social opportunities not spending your winnings on gambling.

Therapy for problem gambling  Cognitive-behavioral therapy -It focuses on changing unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts, such as rationalizations and false beliefs. -It also teaches problem gamblers how to fight gambling urges, deal with uncomfortable emotions rather than escape through gambling, and solve financial, work, and relationship problems caused by the addiction. -The goal of treatment is to “rewire” the addicted brain by thinking about gambling in a new way. -Gamblers can change their thoughts and beliefs about gambling in four steps; relabel, reattribute, refocus, and revalue.

Changing your lifestyle and making healthier choices  One way to stop yourself from problem gambling is to analyze what is needed for gambling to occur, work on removing these elements from your life and replace them with healthier choices. The four elements needed for problem gambling to continue are: - A decision: if you have an urge to gamble: stop what you are doing and call someone, think about the consequences to your actions, tell yourself to stop thinking about gambling, and find something else to do immediately. - Money: get rid of your credit cards, let someone else be in charge of your money, have the bank make automatic payments for you, and keep a limited amount of cash on you at all times.

Time: schedule enjoyable recreational time for yourself that has nothing to do with gambling, find time for relaxation, and plan outings with your family. A game: Without a game or activity to bet on there is no opportunity to gamble. Don’t put yourself in tempting environments or locations. Tell the gambling establishments you frequent that you have a gambling problem and ask them to restrict you from betting at their casinos and establishments.

Gambling in Panama  People in Panama are used to gamble as any other country or culture in the world. There is the usual way of gambling, that is, going to the Casinos, playing lotto and unofficial bets. However, Panamanians have other regional ways of gambling.

Cockfights in Panama  Cockfights in Panama are events made on its majority in improvised structures and can be found all around the country. This is a tradition and part of our “folklore” (culture) in which the female participation is totally absent. These cockfights events are characterized for having individual profits that start from $ to $ dollars and a total of 80 combats per challenge. The VIP ticket is around $25.00 and the other ones have a cost of and $5.00 dollars.

Dominoes  Dominoes (or dominos) generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set (sometimes called a deck or pack) or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. Most domino games are blocking games, i.e. The objective is to empty one's hand whilst blocking the opponents. In the end, a score may be determined by counting the pips in the losing players' handstile games  Here in Panama the awards for winning a domino match varies according to the social status and budget. Some people offer small or huge amount of money and others can bet properties or personal items.

References -Royal Casino Poker Room | Panama City, Panama. Retrieved June 23rd,2010 from: -Playing Dominos on the Street in Panama City. Retrieved June 23,2010 from: -CockFight (Pelea de Gallos) in Panama.Retrieved June 24th, 2010 from:

-Dominoes. Retrieved June 24th, 2010 from -Porque huyen los gallos de pelea durante el combate?Retrieved June 24th, 2010 from: general/temas-de-gallos-y-de-interes-general/porque-huyen- los-gallos-de-pelea-durante-el-combate.html general/temas-de-gallos-y-de-interes-general/porque-huyen- los-gallos-de-pelea-durante-el-combate.html

Conclusion  In conclusion, compulsive gambling is an addiction that destroys homes, marriages, and relationships. Like other addictions it can also lead people down the wrong path in life, cause medical problems and even an impulse to death. Compulsive gambling is just like a drug or alcohol addiction. So with all this said the governments should step up and offer more help with compulsive gambling in order to overcome this social problem.