It can become horribly addictive - eventually draining away not only your finances - but yourself.  There are many who have the Midas touch when it comes to gambling - they win big.  But for Joe and Jane Sixpack, taking huge risks in continuous gambling can have a devastating effect on one’s life, and the cycle becomes increasingly vicious over time.  There certainly is nothing wrong with a little harmless gambling, like playing the lottery, scratch tickets or Bingo.  But when one crosses over to more risky ventures like casinos and the track, the losses can mount much more quickly.  It’s not hard to see that if somebody wins a huge pot at the casino and loses it in the wrong spin of the wheel, playing the card and throwing the dice.  The desire to have that money back again only increases, sometimes costing people their life savings and even their homes.

Professional gamblers are better prepared to deal with these situations and know when to fold them and when to walk away.  For the average person on the street, they may not necessarily have this level of control.  They may view this as an opportunity of a lifetime, viewing this as a chance to right the wrongs in their lives and get even with their own personal wrongdoers.  Plus, gambling can easily become an addiction.  Like many addictions, there is a cheap high and thrill that takes them away from their mundane, troubling lives to a form of escapism that is full of emotional/psychological highs for them.  In other words, addictive behavior…and addiction itself.  Gambling addiction, like drugs, alcohol and sexual addiction can be as equally devastating - many lives have been ruined by it.

It’s okay to take a chance once in awhile and do some moderate gambling.  However, living vicariously through it and all its negative connotations can only spell problems later down the road.  In the end, it can become an emotional/psychological crutch that sooner or later is going to be suddenly and violently removed.  A good way to prevent this is indeed just to do it in moderation.  We’ve always been taught this, but many times it can be swept away.  This does not necessarily mean that the person will become an addict.  However, the danger of it becomes that much greater.  We only dance on the Earth for a short time.  Instead of doing it frantickly and frenzied, we want it smooth and more controlled.

Even totally avoiding it is very good.  There are many positive and much more psychologically healthy substitutes for it  But as human beings, we end up doing something that has the smell, feel and physicality of a vice or some form of crutch, even if it is something notoriously healthy as running, for example.  The secret is to avoid the negative consequences of it through a better understanding of it, using moderate thinking and actions.  As well as spreading these things over a number of positive habits and moderating our mindset along the way.