Gambling involves putting a bet on something of value, such as a horse race or card game. For many people, gambling is a fun and exciting way to spend their spare time. However, if it becomes an addiction it can cause harm to the gambler and their significant others. There are a number of different reasons why people gamble. They may do it for social reasons, to win money or just because they enjoy the feeling of anticipation and a rush of adrenaline. Some may also do it to fulfill basic needs, such as the need for a sense of belonging and the desire for status and specialness (which are often promoted by casinos).

Many people have difficulty recognizing when their gambling has become harmful. Some will try to hide their problem or deny that they have a problem. However, there are a number of services that offer help, support and counselling for people who have problems with their gambling.

In order to effectively measure the impacts of gambling, it is necessary to consider the impacts at three levels: personal, interpersonal and community/society. The majority of research has focused on analyzing the costs to individuals, including financial and labor impacts, but few studies have analyzed the impacts at the interpersonal or community/society level. These impacts, which are non-monetary in nature, have been overlooked because of the difficulties in measuring them. However, it is important to include these in calculations because they are just as important as the monetary impacts.