Gambling Addiction & Marriage

Problem gambling does not just affect the gambler but can undermine any close relationships like marriage. According to the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center, some spouses of problem gamblers report regular incidents of depression and unhappiness.

Effects

• More than half, 51.8 percent, of callers to the Connecticut Problem Gambling Helpline in 1999 talked about family or marital problems, according to the state's Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services. The non-gambling spouse often feels anger towards her partner and loses trust in the relationship. The financial stresses can also contribute to difficulties within the marriage.

Expert Insight

• Problem gamblers can often turn on their spouses. One report, " Epidemiology of Pathological Gambling in Edmonton," published in the "Canadian Journal of Psychiatry" in 1993, suggested that 23 percent of gamblers abused their spouses either physically or emotionally. Another study "Pathological Gambling: Psychosomatic, Emotional and Marital Difficulties as Reported by the Spouse", published in the "Journal of Gambling Behavior" in 1988, suggested that 50 percent of spouses experience physical or emotional abuse.

Help

• Spouses of compulsive gamblers often find counseling helpful, either with the spouse or alone. The organization, Gam-Anon, tries to help support spouses and family members of problem gamblers.