Young People Ask . . .

I’m Hooked! How Can I Stop Gambling?

“I STARTED playing fruit [slot] machines when I was 13,” confesses David. “I got to the stage where I couldn’t pass an amusement arcade without going in to gamble on the fruit machines.” Admits another former gambler, named Thomas: “I even stole from friends, family, and workmates to support my habit. I gambled on just about anything.”

Both David and Thomas were raised as Christians. Both got hooked on gambling​—trapped by a deadly compulsion. Researchers say that alarming numbers of youths have fallen victim to the cunning psychological ploys that lure young people into gambling. Says Time magazine: “Gambling researchers say that of the estimated 8 million compulsive gamblers in America, fully 1 million are teenagers.” Some believe that in the United States, from 4 to 6 percent of all teenagers are pathological gamblers.

Youths pursue many different forms of this vice. In Japan, despite strict laws that prohibit minors from betting, youths “have become conspicuous for their increasing presence as gamblers both on the [racetrack] and at off-track betting establishments, in a disturbing growing trend,” according to the Mainichi Daily News. Playing the lottery, betting on sports events, and card playing are also popular ways among youths of surrendering to the betting urge.

Gambling Addiction ​—The Consequences

Gordon Moody, of Gamblers Anonymous, says: “At first, [gambling] is a wonderful new experience, like making a great discovery or falling in love. . . . Playing with chance is exhilarating and captivating.” (Quit Compulsive Gambling) Yes, to many people it is exciting to experience a winning streak and the accompanying rush of adrenaline. But you cannot beat the odds forever. In the long run, the gambler loses. And debt and financial ruin are just the beginning of his problems.

An addictive pastime, like an addictive substance, can do untold spiritual, emotional, and moral damage. It can develop in you what Gordon Moody calls a “deviousness which . . . will, eventually, make you a slave.” We are reminded of the words of the apostle Paul: “Do you not know that if you keep presenting yourselves to anyone as slaves to obey him, you are slaves of him because you obey him?” (Romans 6:16) The translation by J. B. Phillips renders the verse this way: “You belong to the power which you choose to obey.” Imagine, being under the tyranny of a habit you cannot control!

Because a youth often resorts to lying, deviousness, and thievery to support his habit, his family relationships are also bound to suffer. The British magazine Young People Now observes: “When you realise you’ve become a thief, a liar, and a liability, to the people you love and who love you, your self-esteem plummets.” Not surprisingly, The Harvard Mental Health Letter reports that compulsive gamblers are prone to “severe depression, anxiety disorders,” and a host of physical difficulties, such as “digestive problems, insomnia, headaches, hypertension, asthma, backaches, and chest pains.”

The most devastating consequence of all, however, is the damage to one’s spirituality. The Bible condemns greed and the love of money. (1 Corinthians 5:10, 11; 1 Timothy 6:10) Like any addiction, compulsive wagering is a “defilement of flesh and spirit.” (2 Corinthians 7:1) The more you bet, the more you damage your conscience and your relationship with God.​—Compare 1 Timothy 4:2.

The Will to Quit

How can you break the viselike grip of this habit? First of all, you must really want to quit. “No addiction can ever be overcome unless the addict actually wants to change,” says Liz Hodgkinson in her book Addictions. This means learning to “hate what is bad,” to detest gambling. (Psalm 97:10) How? By thinking about, not its pleasures, but its consequences. Is “the temporary enjoyment of sin”​—the thrill of winning some game—​worth losing out on everlasting life? (Hebrews 11:25) Thinking along these lines can help you develop the resolve to quit.

Researcher Liz Hodgkinson notes, however: “Addictions of any kind can become so ingrained that removing them is rather like tearing off a limb.” But Jesus said: “If, now, that right eye of yours is making you stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you. For it is more beneficial to you for one of your members to be lost to you than for your whole body to be pitched into Gehenna.” (Matthew 5:29) Anything that jeopardizes your relationship with God must be cut out of your life!

This means cultivating self-control. The apostle Paul had recurring desires that he could have allowed to overwhelm him, but he refused to be a slave to his desires. He said, “I pummel my body and lead it as a slave.” (1 Corinthians 9:27) You too must learn to get tough with yourself, not letting your desires control you.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

Winning this fight, however, will require more than willpower. Addictions often reflect yet deeper problems. Says a compulsive gambler named Dick: “My childhood was very strange. There was no love in my family whatsoever. . . . I was always put down. I had a very low opinion of myself.” As a result of such stress, his outlet was gambling.

Many in the field of mental health now link various addictions to the emotional trauma of child abuse and neglect. Whatever the case, getting to the root of your problem may help you overcome it. Prayed the psalmist: “Search through me, O God, and know my heart. Examine me, and know my disquieting thoughts, and see whether there is in me any painful way, and lead me in the way of time indefinite.” (Psalm 139:23, 24) Discussing your disquieting thoughts with a mature Christian, perhaps a congregation elder, may do much to help you understand why you gamble and what you must do to change your thinking and behavior patterns.a

“Something Better”

According to the book Quit Compulsive Gambling, quitting “is only the first [step] in the battle against the problem.” Drastic changes in your life-style will also have to be made. To prevent a relapse, you must steer clear of former gambling partners and stay away from old gambling hangouts, such as casinos, pool halls, and the like. (Proverbs 13:20) This does not mean isolating yourself. (Proverbs 18:1) Work at developing healthy, supportive friendships within the Christian congregation. Keep yourself busy with productive work, spiritual activities, and wholesome recreation.

Hodgkinson reminds us, though, that the addict will win in his fight only when he “perceives that there is something better out there​—that life has more to offer than the attempt to satisfy the addiction.” Well, what could be better than the hope that the Bible offers?

A man named Roddy found this to be true. He describes himself as having been a “completely addicted gambler” for 25 years, starting from when he was a teenager. Roddy tried just about every form of gambling​—horse races, dog races, football pools, gambling casinos. But then he began applying the truths in God’s Word that he learned from Jehovah’s Witnesses. “In just three months,” says Roddy, “a remarkable metamorphosis took place.” He quit gambling, and today he serves as an elder in the Christian congregation.

Perhaps, though, you already have some knowledge of the Bible’s teachings. Like David and Thomas, mentioned at the outset, you may have till now failed to make the Bible’s truths your own. If so, why not ‘prove to yourself the good and acceptable and perfect will of God’ by making a serious study of the Bible? (Romans 12:2) Once David and Thomas began applying what they had learned and developed real faith and conviction, they were able to overcome compulsive gambling. You can too!

Applying yourself to a study of the Bible will make the Bible’s hope for the future​—something better than gambling—​more real to you. At the same time, it will help you develop a personal relationship with God. You will thus feel free to “pray incessantly” to him for help, confident that he understands your feelings. (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Psalm 103:14) He will reward your diligent efforts by giving you the strength needed to win the fight against compulsive gambling.​—Galatians 6:9; Philippians 4:13.

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[Picture on page 16]

Gamblers often resort to lying and thievery to support their gambling habit