Despite the universal appeal of lotteries, another form of gambling is enjoying increasing popularity: playing the slot machines. Although the one-​armed bandits don’t offer overnight riches, they do give the player an instant opportunity to win a jackpot​—which may be substantial. And they are no longer confined to casinos. Catchy jingles, flashing lights, and the occasional clatter of cascading coins advertise their pervasive presence in many European cafés, clubs, restaurants, and hotels.

Frances is an elderly widow who lives in New York City. Two or three times every week, she takes a two-​and-a-half-​hour bus ride to Atlantic City, New Jersey. On arrival she enters one of the city’s casinos, and there she plays the slot machines for six hours or so before returning home. “I don’t know what I’d do without Atlantic City,” she remarks. “This is our fun, you know, this is what we do.”

For others, gambling is much more than mere amusement, an escape from everyday routine, or a hopeful stab at riches. In their case it is an important​—if not essential—​part of life.

“I’m a gambler because I enjoy the risk involved,” explains Luciano, from Córdoba, Spain. “I’m not making excuses for myself,” he adds, “but the fact is I was feeling depressed, and that is why I started playing bingo. Then I looked for other games of chance. You feel great when you have a pocketful of bills and are ready to play.” Another habitual gambler, who had lost his job as a company director, was asked if he had ever considered giving up his vice. “Give it up?” he replied. “I couldn’t do that. It’s my living.”

When Gambling Gets Out Of Control

What changes casual gamblers into compulsive ones? The causes vary, but in one way or another, gamblers arrive at a point in their lives when they feel they cannot live without gambling. (See box on page 7.) Some discover in gambling an excitement that is missing in their lives. One gambler explained: “It doesn’t really matter to me whether I win or lose. When I make a bet, especially if I wager more than those around me, I feel that I’m the most important person in the world. People respect me. I feel so excited!”

Others turn to gambling out of loneliness or depression. Ester, mother of four, was married to a military man who was often away from home. She felt lonely and started to play slot machines in amusement arcades. Before long, she was playing several hours every day. The shopping money was soon lost, and the problems multiplied. She tried to keep her losses from her husband while frantically trying to borrow money from banks or others to maintain her 200 dollar-a-day addiction.

There are also those whose obsession was triggered by a big win. Robert Custer, an authority on compulsive gambling, explains: “It is generally those who win early and consistently in their gambling career who become the compulsive gamblers.” Thereafter, the desire to keep winning becomes overpowering.

For the Love of Money

People gamble to win money, big money if possible. But in the case of the compulsive gambler, the money he wins acquires a special magic. In his eyes, as Robert Custer explains, “money is importance. . . . Money is friendship. . . . Money is medicine.” And why does money mean so much to him?

In gambling circles, people admire the big winner or the big spender. They want to be around him. Thus, the money he has won tells the gambler that he is somebody, that he is smart. The money also makes him forget his problems, helps him relax, and gives him a lift. In the words of researcher Jay Livingston, compulsive gamblers “put all their emotional eggs in the money basket.” It is a tragic error.

When the bubble bursts and he loses again and again, money becomes even more important. Now he desperately wants to get back what he has lost. How can he scrape together enough money to pay his creditors, to recapture that winning streak? Before long his life degenerates into a constant search for cash.

Such a wretched plight is a fact of life for millions of gamblers. They come from both sexes, from all age groups, and from all walks of life. And anyone is vulnerable, as can be seen by the recent surge of gambling addiction among teenagers and housewives.

Teenage and Housewife Addicts

Youngsters are easy prey for the fascinating slot machines or other games of chance that give them the prospect of quick money. A survey in an English city revealed that 4 out of 5 of the 14-​year-​olds played slot machines regularly and that most had started by the age of 9. Some were skipping school to gamble. A survey of U.S. high school students revealed that 6 percent “showed signs of probable pathological gambling.”

Manuel Melgarejo, president of a self-​help group made up of ex-​gamblers in Madrid, Spain, explained to Awake! that an impressionable youngster can be hooked by winning just one hefty jackpot on a slot machine. Overnight, gambling becomes a pastime and a passion. Before long, the young addict may be selling family heirlooms or stealing from the family, even turning to petty thievery or prostitution to finance the addiction.

Dreams That Become Nightmares

Dreams are the stuff that gambling is built on. For some gamblers, dreams of wealth are transitory, but for the compulsive ones, they become his obsession, an obsession he pursues relentlessly, into the jaws of bankruptcy, prison, and even death.

Gambling promises to fill legitimate needs​—an agreeable pastime, a little excitement, some extra money, or an escape from everyday worries—​but the hidden price may prove exorbitant, as compulsive gamblers have discovered to their sorrow.