Money is good fortune. Regardless if its college tuition being gambled or petty cash. The end result is to satisfy oneself with incomparable urges of winning and losing money all within a period of time. Gambling is considered pathological when it seriously disrupts the gambler's life. The problem is thought to affect somewhere between 1.5% to 11% of the adult population. And the rate of suicide attempts among problem gamblers is very high, with as many as 24% of the gamblers who seek treatment reporting such attempts.

Much more is known about the causes of alcoholism then of gambling problems. Still, research shows that 19% to 50% of people who are treated for problem gambling also have a history of alcohol abuse or dependence. This suggests there may be a common vulnerability underlying a problem with gambling and other addictive disorders such as alcoholism. The brain contains clusters of nerves containing serotonin, which extend throughout the nervous system. Changes in the levels of serotonin have been linked to a number of disorders, including depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease. Recent research shows that deficiencies in the genes that control the serotonin system could make a person susceptible to a gambling problem.