When Gambling Addiction Leads To Suicide - Oscar Bamwebaze

Gambling Addiction Causes Suicide

When Gambling Addiction Leads To Suicide

Ugandans were shocked when Sharma Amit, the manager of Khana Khazana, which is a prominent restaurant, committed suicide by jumping from the sixth floor of Garden City mall after he had lost all his money in a Casino. Many of them did not know that gambling addiction often causes suicide. Gambling addiction is a big problem in Uganda and mainly affects the poorest people living in slums. Many food vendors, bakery owners, motor bike riders, and other small scale sole traders/ entrepreneurs, have lost their businesses because of gambling. In the USA, many media reports have revealed the extent of the problem and its link to suicide.

The Las Vegas Sun reported that a small-business owner from Michigan had just returned from a trip to the Las Vegas Strip's MGM Grand Tuesday when he allegedly killed his pregnant wife and three children (under 7 years old) before turning the gun on himself. In his Mich., home, police found a suicide note blaming gambling addiction - and $225,000 in shredded casino markers. His business was $500,000 in debt because he withdrew the money to cover his gambling.[i]

The Washington Post reported that in Atlantic City, an 11-year-old Herndon girl died after initially surviving the slayings of her mother and brother and the suicide of her father, who authorities now say had defrauded area banks of nearly $2 million and had $10 million in gambling and other debts.[ii]

The Times Picayune reported that, “another fight about gambling steeled Jueliene Butler's determination to leave her husband, as her children raced down the street on their bicycles and tricycles. The two shots that resounded through the neighborhood ended a tempestuous 26-year marriage between Rodney and Jueliene Butler in a murder-suicide heard by their 13-year-old daughter”[iii].

In Illinois, the Los Angeles Times 6/22/97 reported that, “Each turned on the ignition of their Olds Regency after stretching a vacuum hose from the exhaust pipe into the car's interior, climbing in and rolling up the windows. Carol, 63, was the obsessive gambler. Disabled and saddled with the monstrous debt she had created, Skip, 69 had wanted to join her. Undone by a ravenous habit that cost them $200,000, a house, a nest egg and two lives, it was Carol who left a terse hint of the forest of guilt and fear that had grown around them. Bexson and Carol Warriner chose suicide as a last exit from gambling habits”.

In Atlantic City, it was reported by The Associated Press 6/9/00 that “an unidentified man hanged himself under the Boardwalk on Thursday, the third suicide outside a casino in the last three months, police said”.

According to the LAS VEGAS SUN 4/5/00, “a 50-year-old Ventnor man in Atlantic City apparently committed suicide Tuesday afternoon by jumping off the parking garage of a casino, police said”. The Associated Press 8/25/99 stated that, “A German tourist in Atlanta  jumped to his death off a 10-story casino parking garage Wednesday in the third such suicide in eight days”.

According to the South Jersey Publishing CO 5/27/00, "An Ex-casino worker leaps to death from roof of Trump Marina. He is the fifth person to jump from a casino here and die since August 1999”. The South Jersey Publishing 7/30/00 reported that, “A bloodied body was found at the entrance to the Sands Casino Hotel parking garage just before 8 a.m. Investigators believe he fell two stories to his death but don't know much more than that”.

The South Jersey Publishing Co. 8/19/99 again revealed that, “The 36-year-old Florida man leaped seven stories to his death Tuesday after losing between $50,000 and $87,000 at Trump Plaza”. The Day Publishing 9/9/00 reported that, “He had developed a gambling habit over the past few months that began on a trip to Las Vegas this summer. Police believe he was driving home from Foxwoods Resort Casino when, in desperation, he killed himself by hanging”. The New York Post 11/16/97 reported that, “A Long Island teen who had a "death wish" because of a $6,000 World Series gambling debt used a $1.75 toy gun to force cops to shoot and kill him, police said yesterday. In Detroit, the Detroit Free Press 1/27/00 reported that, “A gambler losing big dollars in the high-roller area of the MotorCity Casino in Detroit pulled out a gun Wednesday, shot himself in the head and died, police said. He was playing double hands at $500 per hand, and lost $10,000 that night”.

In BILOXI, Miss. The ASSOCIATED PRESS 1/15/01 reported that, “Police are trying to determine what caused a gambler down on his luck to shoot three people before killing himself at a busy Gulf Coast casino”. In Mississippi, in May 1996, Bay St. Louis, Miss., resident James Shamburger, a casino regular, hanged himself with a dog leash. In Illinois, the Sun Times 7/28/97 wrote that, “No one knows why Howard Russell took his life, but authorities found he had taken more than $13,000 in advances on his credit cards during an eight-hour gambling spree on the riverboat.”

It also reported on  7/28/97 that, “Since casinos opened in Joliet five years ago, Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil said he has handled three suicides involving people who had racked up debts on the riverboats. But there are others, he said, such as the Kankakee couple who killed themselves outside O'Neil's jurisdiction. In Illinois, it was reported by TODAY 8/13/01 that, “ 27-year-old Larry ruined his career, maxed out his credit cards and finally killed himself after gambling away his girlfriend's rent money. The Los Angeles Times 6/22/97 reported that in Illinois, “A gambler, Robert Jewell, threatened to spray gunfire in an Elgin, Ill., casino, then returned home and shot himself”.

According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2/22/95, in Illinois, “Kate, 40, a gambling addict and mother of 2, committed suicide by shooting herself in the head.” St. Petersburg Times 11/28/00 reported that, “The night Hillsborough State Attorney Harry walked into a darkened field carrying his gun, he already was mired deep in gambling debt and facing an investigation. He committed suicide”.  The Associated Press 1/21/98 revealed that, “Harrah's Indian gambling director committed suicide over a jackpot dispute”.

Times Picayune 11/8/99 reported that, “After a night of drinking at a Kenner casino Saturday night, a Ponchatoula man, 21, apparently shot himself to death in his car outside the gambling boat, police said”. St. Louis Post-Dispatch 3/3/96 reported that, “Mother committed suicide after secret, luckless trips to Casino St. Charles”.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal 7/12/00, “Pierce was the second prominent actor to take his life in a little more than a year. In March 1999, David Strickland hanged himself at the Oasis Motel, 1731 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Strickland was in the TV series "Suddenly Susan."” Las Vegas Sun 1/6/00 reports that- A 24-year-old Utah man scaled two security barriers and jumped to his death from the observation deck of the 1,149-foot Stratosphere Tower hotel-casino late Wednesday, police said.

Alabama Live 1/15/01 reported that: The bullets fired by the family man and Alabama Power employee struck three people he'd apparently never met inside the 23-story hotel and casino, and sparked a panic that didn't end until a dozen other people were injured in the melee. McConnell then shot himself in the head. A casino employee said he had been in the casino before and was upset after losing at the slot machines.

Las Vegas SUN 10/31/98 reported that - They have bank statements showing that Batdorf drained his $17,000 Florida bank account in 11 days. Between August and September he made $600 daily ATM withdrawals as often as three times a day and maxed out his credit cards that put him $72,000 in debt. A pawn shop ticket with his name and thumbprint on it prove he hocked the last of his things, among them the ceramic W.C. Fields and Marx Brothers figurines his mom gave him for Christmas. All activity stopped on his credit cards and bank statements a little over two months later in Las Vegas -- about the same time a man's body matching Batdorf's description turned up in the desert, dead from a .357-caliber gunshot wound in the head.

The Los Angeles Times 6/30/97 reported that - A compulsive gambler shot and killed himself in San Diego. It was at least the second such suicide in that city within the past few months, yet these events are rarely reported and when they are, the connection with gambling is often overlooked. According to Los Angeles Times 6/22/97, “Where a 19-year-old college dropout, Jason Berg, shot himself to death in June 1994, despairing over a budding gambling habit”.

New York Post 11/16/98 reported that - A Long Island teen who had a "death wish" because of a $6,000 World Series gambling debt used a $1.75 toy gun to force cops to shoot and kill him, police said yesterday.

The Associated Press 11/17/97 reported that- Pergament, depressed over $6,000 in gambling debts, got himself shot Friday night by threatening officers with what turned out to be a toy gun, police said. They call it "suicide by co" -- and say they've seen it before.

WARD M. WINTON St. Paul, Dec. 16, 1997 said, “My father, a successful lawyer in Los Angeles, was also a compulsive gambler, and he killed himself in 1976, shortly after one of his many trips to Las Vegas. The Register-Guard 7/25/01 reported that- A Eugene woman who blames her brother's suicide on the state lottery's video poker network filed a lawsuit Tuesday that would constitutionally invalidate the lottery.

According to The Providence Journal 11/30/98Hours after Police Chief Thomas Moffatt was found dead Nov. 20, apparently a suicide, in the basement of the police station, four city officials were told of reports that the chief had been borrowing money from subordinates to pay gambling debts.

According to The Commercial Appeal 3/17/98 - After two losing days at the Tunica gambling tables, Ronnie Austin told his wife he was ready to leave. By the time she caught up to him in the Horseshoe Casino parking garage, the Cordova resident was dead from a 9 mm gunshot wound to the chest, an apparent suicide captured on security camera videotape.

Las Vegas Review-Journal 11/16/98 reported that-Tillander became immersed in a gambling habit. While no one knows the extent of Tillander's debts, his inability to stop gambling left him unwilling to go on. "His finances were getting out of control," Flatt says. "Gambling is a tough addiction because when you confront someone about it, there is usually very little evidence." authorities found Tillander's body in his apartment. He had crafted the cyanide gas concoction, stuck his head in a pup tent and taken in the deadly fumes.

According to The Day Publishing Online 9/9/00 - A bank employee and father with a gambling habit, in desperation, killed himself by hanging after leaving a casino. It also further revealed that - The body of 28-year-old John Diakos was found in a casino parking lot after he committed suicide by ingesting a mixture of drugs and cutting his arms…38-year-old woman of Stamford drowned herself by wading into the Thames River after losing hundreds of dollars at gambling the maximum amount allowed on her credit cards at the casino.

There is nothing wrong with Gambling, but some people, because of a number of psychological reasons, can not gamble normally and should not be permitted to gamble. These people are prone to gambling addiction or problem gambling (ludomania), which is an urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop.

One can be said to be a gambling addict if gambling causes harm to him or others. Gambling addiction is sometimes considered to be an impulse control disorder and is therefore not considered by the American Psychological Association to be an addiction.

According to Gambling Research Australia, “Problem gambling is characterized by many difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others, or for the community”.

In extreme cases of problem gambling, it may degenerate into a mental disorder. In fact, pathological gambling was recognized as a psychiatric disorder in the DSM-III, but the criteria were significantly reworked based on large-scale studies and statistical methods for the DSM-IV. As defined by American Psychiatric Association, pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder that is a chronic and progressive mental illness. The DSM-IV now considers pathological gambling to be a separate from a manic episode. An individual is to be a pathological gambler if he7 she has at least 5 (or more) of the following symptoms:

1.      Preoccupation. The subject has frequent thoughts about gambling experiences, whether past, future, or fantasy.

2. Tolerance. As with drug tolerance, the subject requires larger or more frequent wagers to experience the same "rush".
3. Withdrawal. Restlessness or irritability associated with attempts to cease or reduce gambling.
4. Escape. The subject gambles to improve mood or escape problems.
5. Chasing. The subject tries to win back gambling losses with more gambling.
6. Lying. The subject tries to hide the extent of his or her gambling by lying to family, friends, or therapists.
7. Loss of control. The person has unsuccessfully attempted to reduce gambling.
8. Illegal acts. The person has broken the law in order to obtain gambling money or recover gambling losses. This may include acts of theft, embezzlement, fraud, or forgery.
9. Risked significant relationship. The person gambles despite risking or losing a relationship, job, or other significant opportunity.
10. Bailout. The person turns to family, friends, or another third party for financial assistance as a result of gambling.

But according to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, recent evidence indicates that pathological gambling is an addiction similar to chemical addiction. It has been discovered that some pathological gamblers have lower levels of norepinephrine than normal gamblers. According to a study conducted by Alec Roy, M.D. formerly at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their under-dosage. According to Black DW, Shaw M (2008), individuals who have pathological gambling are highly likely to exhibit other psychiatric problems at the same time, including substance use disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, or personality disorders.

The most common treatments for problem gambling involve counselling, 12 step-based programs, self-help groups, peer-support, medication, or a combination of these. Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is probably the most commonly used treatment for gambling problems. It is modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous and uses a 12-step model that emphasizes a mutual-support approach. Other forms of therapy include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which focuses on the identification of gambling-related thought processes, mood and cognitive distortions that increase one’s vulnerability to out-of-control gambling. It frequently utilizes skill-building techniques geared toward relapse prevention, assertiveness and gambling refusal, problem solving and reinforcement of gambling-inconsistent activities and interests.

Sources:

1.      Gambling Addiction: The Problem, the Pain, and the Path to Recovery

2.      Should the scope of addictive behaviors be broadened to include pathological gambling?

3.      (2005) Problem Gambling and Harm: Towards a National Definition http://www.gamblingresearch.org.au/CA256902000FE154/Lookup/GRA_Reports_Files1/$file/NatDefs_ExecSum.pdf

4.      Lesieur, H. R., & Blume, S. B. (1987). The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A new instrument for the identification of pathological gamblers. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 144(9), 1184-1181.

5.      Ferris, J., & Wynne, H. (2001). The Canadian problem gambling index: Final report. Canadian Center on Substance Abuse (CCSA).

6.      Ben-Tovim. D., Esterman. A., Tolchard. B., & Battersby, M. (2001). The Victorian Gambling Screen: Project report. Melbourne: Victorian Research Panel.