Psychiatrists have long suspected that gambling addiction, similar to depression and other mental disorders, has a genetic basis. Recently, an American researcher has found evidence suggesting that the “gambling disease” is hereditary.
Dr. Donald Black, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa, led a team that interviewed 31 gambling addicts and 31 individuals who sometimes engage in betting. The study’s results revealed that 12% of gambling addicts have relatives with similar addictive behaviors, while only about 3% of non-gamblers have family members who are gamblers. Black, along with other mental health experts, believes that gambling addiction is closely related to other addictive behaviors.
“There is something that is transmitted within these families that increases the likelihood of engaging in impulsive and self-destructive behavior. In some individuals, it manifests as a misuse of finances, in others as anti-social behavior, and in others still, it is simply gambling, often with all three factors combined,” Black noted.
Gambling and betting have surged in recent years, flourishing on the Internet with an increasing number of betting brokers. Furthermore, legal casinos are opening everywhere, attracting more followers of chance. It is challenging to estimate the number of gamblers due to the numerous illegal or disguised gambling activities.
In his findings published in the journal *Psychiatry Research*, Black observed that gambling addicts outside his study group might be single, divorced, or have lost a spouse. However, he also noted that the gambling addicts he researched often come from large families—many siblings and relatives—though he hesitated to hypothesize why this is the case.
Researchers hope that identifying the genetic links of gambling addiction could lead to discovering a chemical method for treating the disorder. “What we have found in gambling patients is that they possess an irresistible urge to gamble. Ideally, we would discover a drug that could intervene in that urge,” Black stated.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have reported that a new drug called nalmefene seems to affect brain areas associated with pleasure, particularly when individuals seek to satisfy their compulsive desires. The latest issue of the American *Psychiatry* journal reported on trial results conducted on gambling enthusiasts in 2002 and 2003. Among those taking 25 milligrams of nalmefene, 59% were rated as having much or very much improvement by the Minnesota research team. However, there is still much work to be done, and nalmefene has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating gambling addiction. Higher doses did not yield better results, and two-thirds of patients did not complete the trial due to the apparent side effects of the drug, such as vomiting and insomnia.
