If you or a loved one suffers from a gambling addiction you are most likely aware of the financial

problems that gambling addiction can cause.

I call it the slow road to bankruptcy, because of the slow road to financial ruin due to lack of savings

and ongoing credit card advances. The gambler gets lost in the lights, bells, whistles and jingles, and

excitement and truly forgets how much he or she is losing during any given gambling excursion.

In addition, ATM machines are usually very nearby, and cash almost becomes similar to monopoly money.

For the person with a gambling addiction, there may be a sense of unreality as the individual is lost in

a fantasyland. This fantasyland is really the opening to the gates of financial hell.

If an individual goes to a casino three times a month and loses $400 during each visit, that adds up to

$1200 per month. This money most likely comes from savings or credit card cash advances. Slowly, the

gambling addict begins to run out of savings and begins to go into debt.

This can usually happen over a period of 2 to 4 years, or it can happen very rapidly within just a few

months. With a slot machine, pokies, or fruit machine addiction, this progression happens very quickly.

The tragedy of these circumstances is that the person with the gambling addiction or gambling problem

usually does not realize that he or she has a problem until it is too late. Usually the individual is 30

to 40 thousand dollars in debt or more by this time. Many people are also on the verge of losing their

homes or their automobiles.

This is the harsh and horrible financial reality of an out of control gambling addiction. The worst part

of this is that it takes a short time to lose tremendous amounts of money and a very long time to make

the lost money back.

There is help for a gambling addiction and the financial consequences that follow. Nobody should suffer in silence with a gambling addiction.

Michelle Tee
http://www.gamblingaddiction.tv

By Michelle Tee
Michelle Tee, Author and Counselor.
http://www.gamblingaddiction.tv