One of the most characteristic symptoms of gambling addiction is that the gambler plays to try to recover losses (known as “chasing” one’s losses), which, of course, makes the problem worse ( 17). This pattern of excessive gambling places the gambler in a spiral of increasingly important losses, given that the mathematical expectation is not favorable to the gambler.Gambling disorder is a serious mental disorder ( 15, 16), in which the clinical and diagnostic criteria point to a pattern of excessive gambling.Gambling is a potentially addictive activity because: (a) it activates the same reward circuits in the brain as drugs and (b) the clinical characteristics of gambling disorder are the same as those of drug addictions or alcoholism ( 14).That is, the more money played, the greater the profits obtained. Therefore, the more money spent on gambling, the greater the probability that the companies managing the games will win. Gambling is designed in such a way that the expected value, also known as mathematical expectation, is favorable for the company that manages the game.In general terms, gambling may be thought of as a zero-sum game in which the gambling company is one player and the gamblers constitute the other. In terms of Game Theory ( 13), gambling is an example of a zero-sum game, a non-cooperative game in which one player’s wins equals the other player’s losses, resulting in a net benefit of 0.According to the Global Betting and Gaming Consultants ( 12), the global gambling revenue was estimated to be US $464 billion in 2016. Gambling is a major economic activity in societies where it is allowed.(a) Regarding its socioeconomic dimensions: In order to be able to understand the concept EG, it is necessary to consider the following assumptions with regard to gambling ( 11): The purpose of EG is to create the necessary environmental conditions that permit gambling as an economic activity, but with the primary objective of preventing potential health risks, primarily gambling disorder.

This paper defends the need for a specific concept: “ethical gambling” (EG), which goes one step further in assuming the responsibility of companies and governments not only with regard to the cause of the damage gambling induces but also with respect to the specific actions to prevent gambling disorder.

For Livingstone and Woolley ( 10), the term is limited by its lack of clear goals and terminological clarity. On the contrary, gambling has increased globally, the initiatives based on RG models have had little relation to the research evidence on best practices to prevent harms ( 5, 6) and the independent gambling researchers that could improve RG initiatives are often ignored by policy makers ( 7– 9). “Corporate social responsibility” ( 1, 2) or “responsible gambling” (RG) ( 3, 4) are concepts that mediate the idea that gambling can be harmful to some gamblers, and the assumption that governments and companies can do something to mitigate the problems caused by gambling and to promote “appropriate” patterns of behavior in gamblers.Īlthough many governments and companies have implemented strategic plans based on models of RG, this has not served to prevent one of the major public health problems caused by gambling, which is gambling disorder.

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