Gambling involves the wagering of something of value (money, goods, services or other prizes) on a random event with an intent to win something else of value. A game of chance, gambling is a worldwide industry that is estimated to be worth over $335 billion.

While most people gamble for fun and enjoyment, some individuals develop pathological gambling and become seriously involved in terms of time invested and money wagered. Several studies have demonstrated negative and harmful effects of gambling, including family, financial, social, and psychological outcomes. However, there is also evidence of positive impacts, such as enhancing seniors’ self-concept, and the potential to escape boredom and stress.

The majority of research on gambling has focused on its negative and harmful impacts, but a growing role exists for evaluating gamblers in primary care settings for addictive disorders. A public health approach considers gambling as a non-drug behavior with addictive potential.

The main methodological challenges are to distinguish the impact of gambling from other factors and to determine how it relates to mental illness and other health problems. Impacts can be structuralized into three classes: financial, labor and health and well-being. They occur on a personal, interpersonal and community/societal level, and they have a temporal dimension. The latter refers to the development, severity and scope of the impacts over time. They also affect the gamblers’ immediate and extended families. Moreover, they can have indirect effects on communities, such as the appropriation of gambling revenues by charitable groups and the direct competition between casinos.