If you have turned on the television lately it is likely that you have watched a commercial for gambling (whether it is for online poker or a local casino). A show on the Bravo channel called Celebrity Poker Showdown has become popular recently and ESPN has been running regular coverage of professional poker tournaments. Gambling is not just for bus loads of retirees in Atlantic City anymore. With the advent of the internet and the recent television coverage poker and gambling in general have become part of popular culture and has lead to the spread of gambling in today’s society especially among college students.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 85 percent of the population of the population has gambled at least one. Another study done at the University of Pennsylvania at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, established that more than half of the college students interviewed admitted to gambling at least once a month (poker, slots or craps). A Harvard study found that nearly five percent of young people have a gambling problem, stating that 42 percent of the student’s interviewed said that they gamble primarily to make money, which this reporter suspects may be an attempt to offset rising tuition costs.
A number of engineering students who wished to remain nameless would classify themselves as casual social gamblers, after a rough semester with their favorite professor, Grodzinsky, some report hitting “the bottle” while others go to Fox Woods for a day or weekend to relax. For those who do not go the Casinos, but gamble online, the most popular sites are online poker. One theory for the popularity is the belief that poker is a game of a skill and not chance like slots or craps. In reality most report losing or just breaking even. The old saying goes, “the house always wins.”
Here are some questions one should ask one self before considering gambling online: “Are the other players real? Am I the only real player? Am I playing a computer program? Are the cards dealt randomly? Is my credit information safe?” Students at the university, who play poker religiously every week, reported an average loss of five dollars per session. Losses can add up over time leading to serious debt. There have been reports of students gambling away their tuition money; others have maxed out their credit cards. Some have even reported graduating with an extra forty thousand dollars of debt.
Depending on your gambling behavior you may be classified as one of the following types of gamblers; Professional, personality, casual social, serious social, relief and escape, and compulsive gamblers. Professional gamblers make their living by gambling and thus consider it a profession. They are skilled in the games they choose to play and are able to control both the amount of money and time spent gambling. Thus, professional gamblers are not addicted to gambling. They patiently wait for the best bet and then try to win as much as they can. Antisocial or personality gamblers use gambling as a way to get money by illegal means. They are likely to be involved in fixing horse or dog races, or playing with loaded dice or marked cards. They may attempt to use a compulsive gambling diagnosis as a legal defense. Casual social gamblers gamble for recreation, sociability and entertainment. For them, gambling may be a distraction or a form of relaxation. Gambling does not interfere with family, social or vocational obligations. Examples of such betting are the occasional poker game, Super Bowl bets, a yearly trip to Las Vegas and casual involvement in the lottery. In contrast, serious social gamblers invest more of their time in gambling. Gambling is a major source of relaxation and entertainment, yet these individuals place gambling second in importance to family and their job or schooling. This type of gambler could be compared to a “golf nut,” whose source of relaxation comes from playing golf. Serious social gamblers still maintain control over their gambling activities. Relief and escape gamblers, gamble to find relief from feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, boredom or loneliness. They use gambling to escape from crisis or difficulties. Gambling provides an analgesic effect rather than a euphoric response and if the problems that lead them to gamble are not addressed they could develop a gambling problem. Compulsive gamblers have lost control over their gambling. For them, gambling is the most important thing in their lives. Compulsive gambling is a progressive addiction that affects every aspect of the gambler’s life and can lead to serious consequences.
The University’s counseling center has not seen an onslaught of students seeking treatment for gambling addiction, in fact not a single student has reported having a problem with gambling. Problem gambling is an addiction like alcoholism and should be treated. If you need help with a gambling problem, Carol Weiner, Director of Counseling Services can be contacted by email at weiner@bridgeport.edu and by phone at 203-576-4454, because every day that this problem goes untreated the more severe it becomes.
University of Bridgeport
Monday, July 14, 2025