There are numerous job-related costs associated with problem and pathological gambling. These include irritability, moodiness and poor concentration, lowered efficiency, impaired judgment and faulty decision-making, gambling on company time, lateness and absences from work, and abuse of the telephone in order to place bets and deal with creditors. Financial Costs . Considerable financial debt is common among pathological gamblers in treatment. Criminal Activities .
Many pathological gamblers entering treatment have significant legal problems.
Summary of the Costs of Problem Gambling As this review of the problem gambling treatment literature makes clear, problem and pathological gambling are disorders whose costs go far beyond individual monetary losses for a small proportion of the general population. The impacts of problem gambling ripple out to involve family members and friends, co-workers and employers, banks, creditors, insurance companies, social service agencies and the civil and criminal justice systems. In the wake of the spread of legalized gambling in Washington State, the Washington State Lottery elected to fund a survey of the prevalence of problem and probable pathological gambling in the state. This is the first time that such a study has been initiated and funded by a state lottery. This report reviews the methods used to collect the data, discusses gambling involvement by Washington State residents, identifies the prevalence of problem and probable pathological gambling among the adult population of Washington State and compares these with the frequency and costs of gambling involvement among non-problem and problem gamblers in Washington State.