More than that, there s an organic basis, or predisposition. Such statements fuel the debate regarding how much control gamblers have over their habits and how to approach prevention and treatment. While there are hundreds of studies, the world is still relatively ignorant about what causes gambling addiction. It is often said that research into problem gambling is 20 years behind research into alcoholism. Rosenthal and others have been conducting research on pathological gamblers for two years and have found that abnormalities in something called the D2 dopamine receptor may make people more vulnerable to gambling addiction.
Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that acts as a neurotransmitter.
It is involved in various disorders, such as schizophrenia and Parkinson s disease. The second thing we found was that the severity of the gambling problem correlated to the likelihood of the gene being abnormal. The study, which has yet to be published, involved 150 gamblers divided into four groups, depending on the intensity of each person s gambling problem. The research showed that 73 percent of the most severe gamblers had the genetic abnormality. And the defect preceded the gambling, rather than being caused by it, Rosenthal said.