Preoccupation with gambling and uncontrollable impulse to gamble, regardless of the problems caused in daily life.

The Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling reported that 61% of the U.S. population engaged in some form of gambling. The group also estimated that there were 1.1 million compulsive gamblers in the United States. While for many people gambling is a form of harmless recreation, for others it is an uncontrollable and all-consuming pursuit, often eclipsing everything else in their life. Some gamblers borrow or steal money when their funds run out; some lose their jobs and homes; and in almost all cases, their relationships with family and friends are aversely affected.

Pathological gambling is defined as a pattern of repeated gambling and preoccupation with gambling. The term was not included...