There are no clocks, no windows, no sense of time, and food and drink are plentiful. For some seniors whose physical limitations prevent many outings and walking, the free transportation and a day at the casino is within the range of their physical ability and serves as a social activity. In addition, many slot machines now have buttons to push so seniors do not have to pull handles for endless hours. One of the saddest truths is that compulsive gambling causes normally law-abiding individuals, seniors included, to write bad cheques after their money is gone. Bankruptcy, and for some, prison is the only alternative.
Suicide can follow.
This problem is particularly acute in seniors because retirees cannot go out and rebuild their lives and reclaim their loses with a job. Unlike alcoholism, which ravages its victim over time, gambling can destroy a life in a matter of hours. Here too is a special risk for seniors. In the comfort of their home, they can gamble away the hours with no guarantee of a payout in the unlikely event of a win, since many internet casinos are offshore and unregulated. The odds are against the player in an online casino, more so in an offshore casino online.