Can excessive gambling be defined in general terms or does it depend on the circumstances and the individual?
Obviously, individual circumstances are determinative. A wealthy person might easily absorb a gambling loss that would devastate a person of lesser means. Even the amount of time spent gambling is not a universal guide to assessing what is “excessive.” In Australia, the national, state and territory governments are working on a national definition of “Problem Gambling and Harm” — http://www.gamblingresearch.org.au/CA256902000FE154/Lookup/GRA_Reports_Files1/$file/FinalReportPrinter.pdf The following definition of problem gambling by the (U.S.) National Council on Problem Gambling, http://www.ncpgambling.org/, reflects a view common in North America: “Problem gambling is gambling behavior which causes disruptions in any major area of life: psychological, physical, social or vocational. The term ’Problem Gambling’ includes, but is not limited to, the condition known as ’Pathological’, or ’Compulsive’ Gambling, a progressive addiction characterized by increasing preoccupation with gamblin
