updated 9/14/2004 11:53:20 AM ET2004-09-14T15:53:20
For Patty, frequenting the slot machines at the Indian casino near her home in Southern California was initially an escape from day-to-day worries. It wasn't until she experienced a substantial. Dec 04, 2016 Why is Gambling Bad for You Meagan Smith. Unsubscribe from Meagan Smith? Why I Gave It All Up and Gambling Addiction - Duration: 16:22. Anton Daniels 1,239,701 views. Is Gambling for Fun Good for Your Health? However, while this is the case, the truth of the matter is, too much of anything is bad and as such too much of gambling (as is the case with a whole lot of other things) is also bad. There is need to view gambling as a pastime or an option to wind up time when you have some spare minutes to kill.
Jun 19, 2018 Gambling can be a bit of fun, but if it becomes compulsive or involves significant loss of money or property, it is considered an addiction and a mental health problem. After diagnosis, treatment.
- Font:
- +
- -
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It's Friday at the Mohegan Sun casino, and most of the daytime gamblers are retirees like 73-year-old Mike Sanzo. He’s checking out the day’s races, while his wife hits the slots.
- Splash NewsMore women opting for preventive mastectomy - but should they be?Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring.
Sanzo says he gambles for fun and enjoys the friends he’s made among other regulars at the casino since leaving his job installing signs for the state highway department.
“I’m retired, and it exercises my brain,” he says.
He’s an example of what a surprising Yale University study found — older recreational gamblers seem to be healthier than non-gamblers.
The findings are not rock-solid. They’re only based on telephone interviews, but the results are the opposite of what researchers expected. The survey showed that recreational gamblers 65 and older reported being in better health than their peers who don’t gamble. The older gamblers also reported less alcoholism, depression, bankruptcy and imprisonment than younger recreational gamblers, Yale epidemiologist Rani Desai said.
Desai cautioned that more study is needed to conclude that gambling can be a healthy venture, and those who help gambling addicts are skeptical.
But the social aspects of gambling — whether it’s slot machines at a casino, poker games with friends or bingo at a church hall — may be an explanation for how the study turned out, Desai said.
“There’s this whole concept of healthy aging — that folks who continue to remain engaged in activity, especially in the community and in social activities, stay healthier longer, so I think this is a reflection of that. It’s not that gambling makes you healthy, it’s that gamblers are healthier,” Desai said.
Some psychologists question the findings.
“It may get them out, but the socialization isn’t that much because they sit in front of machines, interacting with them,” said psychologist Elizabeth Sterling of Santa Fe, N.M., who counsels gambling addicts. “I guess if you can keep it at a limit — spend $20 and go once a week — there’s no harm to it, but a benefit I can’t see.”
Desai started the study with the idea that health problems already well documented among all gamblers might be more pronounced in gamblers over 65. Any losses would presumably hit older people harder, since most are on fixed incomes.
Also, the gambling industry tries to attract older people with freebies and trips, and even provide needle disposals for diabetics in the restrooms and heart defibrillators on the casino floor.
![Why is gambling bad for your health Why is gambling bad for your health](/uploads/1/2/5/2/125202646/420118602.jpg)
The survey of 2,400 people relied on the participants to report their gambling habits, health and other personal information. A survey firm called all the participants, and Yale researchers crunched the numbers. The findings were published in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The results could be because nongamblers might be too ill or disabled to leave the house, but there also are plenty of older people with health problems at the track and the blackjack tables.
Moderation is key
Joe Haley, 71, of Colchester, uses an oxygen tank because he has a rare lung disease, but he still goes to Mohegan Sun about once a month for video poker and blackjack.
Joe Haley, 71, of Colchester, uses an oxygen tank because he has a rare lung disease, but he still goes to Mohegan Sun about once a month for video poker and blackjack.
“My opinion is a lot of people are lonely and a lot of people we know who come here will tell you that. They like to play a little and chitchat with the person next to them,” Haley said.
Why Is Gambling Bad For Your Health
Sanzo, the retired state highway worker, had heart bypass surgery a few years ago. He and his wife, who live in the Hartford suburb of Newington, visit the Mohegan Tribal Nation’s casino a few times a week. They spend about $40, pursuing their separate gambling interests, and meet up later to compare notes on how they did.
.View From Your Seat is not currently available for the Mae Wilson Theatre in Moose Jaw. Regina casino show lounge seating. We’ve opened a new Box Office so you can get access to the shows you love, even faster. The new Box Office is located in Central Hall in Casino Regina and is open for business on non-show days. Casino Regina Box Office Hours. 10am–6pm non-show/event nights 10am–10pm on show/event nights. Contact Information. Casino Regina's Show Lounge consists of three-tier seating on the main level and theatre seating in the balcony. The main floor can be reconfigured to accommodate dinners, receptions, or we can have tables removed for general admission shows with no tables (standing only).
The study only looked at recreational gamblers and did not study people who had gambling problems. Very few were found in the survey, Desai said, but the health and financial problems for addicts are well known.
“The key is moderation, and once it gets to the point that you’re showing signs of addiction, then it becomes a serious health threat and is overwhelmed by any small benefit it may have afforded you by getting out of the house,” she said.
Running Bad For Your Health
Keith Whyte, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, which advocates for gambling addicts, likened the Yale report to studies that have found a glass of red wine can be healthful.
![Is Gambling Bad For Your Health Is Gambling Bad For Your Health](/uploads/1/2/5/2/125202646/426916327.png)
He recommended that recreational gamblers should set limits, go with friends, take breaks and know the signs of addiction, such as betting increasing amounts to enjoy gambling as much, out-of-control feelings or allowing gambling to interfere with work, family or school. Gamblers also should know who to contact if they need help.
“Clearly, if it becomes obsessive and a psychological health problem,” he said, “that’s a concern for everybody.”
Is Gaming Bad For Your Health
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.