Gambling Addiction: Win, Loss, Despair

Downward spiral gambling den

The case of Jeanette N. Illustrates the mostly gradual progression here: it all started in 2010, with roulette in the internet casino. Since her net income of 1 $a month would quickly no longer be enough, she was forced into crime and gambled with other people's money:

For me it was like sitting in front of the television. That was the only way I could switch off. Small missions will soon no longer satisfy me. I absolutely had to win back the money I had lost. Statement by the defendant Jeanette N.

Norbert Hieronymi describes such a development as a vicious circle, which he is confronted with as an addiction counselor daily: "In counseling, we work with the three-phase model: Win - Loss - Despair. Because winning is followed by the losing phase. The typical idea is: I'll get the loss back. Players build up a deceptive system in the belief that they can outplay the machine with perseverance and tricks." However, the social worker from Baden-Württemberg is certain: “The more regularly you play, the more likely you are to lose.”

A bottomless pit in the case of Jeanette N.: In order to make up for her losses and ensure her account coverage, she began to divert her employers' company funds - in court there is talk of false bookings and rebookings, fictitious invoices and manipulated payment instructions in her favor. So she captured loudly Bild newspaper exactly 1 $ 100 and 41 cents. In order to finance her addiction, she drove eight colleagues into unemployment and also a Berlin security company and a law firm into ruin.

Burn out and loss of reality

And Jeannette N. Hat continued to gamble – lured by the “champagne gifts” from the internet casinos. When she wasn't online for a while, she says, there were calls from the casino and mailings of “bonus money”. At this time, N. Was already completely out of control:

"Once I turned 60 $into 20,000 euros in just one hour. And then gambled it away again."

She also speaks of withdrawal symptoms: restlessness, sleep disorders, burning skin, headaches, bad mood. She only felt really fit when she was playing.

Here Jeanette N. Is subject to the classic physiological exhaustion patterns of addiction: "Brain research shows that in behavioral addictions, similar to addictive substances, dopamine releases occur in the brain, which bring about high feelings. And the brain metabolism shifts over time. Addicted gamblers become listless for everything except gambling. Attempts to stop gambling fail. Relapses occur," confirmsigt Norbert Hieronymi.

“Addictive behavior is an extreme extreme of behavior because it can no longer be controlled and is automatic, almost reflexive,” says the textbook. In this sense, gambling addiction has been officially considered a mental illness since 1980 - which makes it all the more important Recognize signs of gambling addiction to be able to. To what extent this can have a mitigating effect on Jeannette N. Remains to be seen. There is a need for clarification regarding their sanity, as well as their level of addiction. It is said that the accountant bought a valuable weekend property in Brandenburg's Schorfheide before her arrest. Although, according to her own statements, she gambled away all the money. The verdict is expected on March 23rd.

Gambling addiction: win, loss, despair