ONJORO: Stop gambling adverts on TV and radio stations

Gambling can stimulate the brain's reward system much like drugs or alcohol can, leading to addiction.

There are many companies, which are doing the betting business in Kenya.

If you have a problem with compulsive gambling, you may continually chase bets that lead to losses, hide your behaviour, deplete savings, accumulate debt, or even resort to theft or fraud to support your addiction.

Going overboard can transform what should be an occasional source of enjoyment into a mental dependence. 

Pathological gambling is regarded as a compulsion, motivated by the need to relieve anxiety. 

Excessive gambling can lead to dramatic alterations in the way the brain sends chemical messages, and gamblers often have genetic or psychological dispositions that make them prone to gambling too much.

These factors can initiate a person’s downward spiral into addiction.

The brain becomes conditioned into wanting more and triggers its reward system, to the point where its mental wiring becomes significantly altered, and getting it back to normal requires weeks, months or even years.

The main neurotransmitter in the reward system is known as dopamine. 

When enough dopamine is released due to stimulating and enjoyable activities, we experience euphoria and pleasure and feel motivated particularly to do that same activity again. 

When drugs are taken, they increase the dopamine that’s released in the reward system up to 10 times more than the amount natural rewarding experiences would generate.

This also happens when gambling. Research and studies into gambling’s effect on the brain indicate that it activates the brain’s reward system similarly to how drugs do by releasing a higher amount of dopamine.

This is why people are initially attracted to gambling. It’s a highly rewarding experience and I have never met a gambler who has been successful in life.

Even the owners of gambling stations cannot allow people to win every time because they also need to make profits.

The problem l have seen or experienced, is those gamblers who have lost properties, friends and their families have kept away from the gamblers as they are always in trouble or begging for assistance.

Gambling addiction also known as pathological gambling, compulsive gambling or gambling disorder is an impulse-control disorder.

Compulsive gamblers can’t control the impulse to gamble, even when it has negative consequences for them or their loved ones.

A person gambles whether they are up and down or broke and they keep gambling regardless of the consequences even when they know that the odds are against them and they cannot afford to lose.

Problem gambling is any gambling behaviour that disrupts your life.

If you’re preoccupied with gambling, spending more time and money on it, chasing losses, or gambling despite serious consequences in your life, you have a gambling problem.

Gambling addiction is often associated with other behaviour or mood disorders.

Many problem gamblers also suffer from substance abuse issues, stress, depression and anxiety.

To overcome your gambling problems, you will also need to address these and any other underlying causes as well.

Gambling makes them feel satisfied and experience a pleasure.

Therefore, involving our children will distract their minds and our country will not develop fully.

With phones having the ability to bet, very many young people in colleges, and secondary schools are betting away their school fees and any money in their possession.

This is very sad. Whether you bet on sports, scratch cards, roulette, poker, or slots in a casino, at the track, or online, a gambling problem can strain your relationships, interfere with work, and lead to financial disaster.

You may even do things you never thought you would, like running up huge debts or even stealing money to gamble. 

Gamblers commonly think that the chances of winning increase with each loss, but this is completely untrue.

It also makes it incredibly difficult for a person to know when they have a problem.

Having a gambling addiction is often accompanied by denial and an unrealistic view of things. 

For a country to progress, it needs to invest in education, industries, health and businesses but not betting

Director career organisation

Edited by Kiilu Damaris