Mark Erickson, an accountant from Phoenix, started online gambling innocently enough, but overtime the habit grew out of control.
"I've heard other people compare it to a cocaine addiction, the high you get from that, and that's the euphoria I felt," he said. "It becomes an all-consuming activity. The lining up the money, the handicapping of the game, the betting of the game, the watching of the game -- win or lose, it didn't matter to me, it just set me up to bet again."

Eventually Erickson ran up a gambling debt of $400,000, causing him to steal from his clients to cover his debts and eventually leave his family and flee to avoid prosecution.  At one point, he even contemplated suicide.

Erickson then realized that since he was responsible for creating the mess he was in he was also responsible for cleaning up the mess he was in.  After 23 days on the run, he finally turned himself in and began serving a one-year prison term.  Now Erickson works for a compulsive gambling hotline and credits a twelve-step program with his recovery from addictive gambling. 

"Life is great," Erickson said. "The miracles I've experienced. The sharing of experiences with friends, family, like I've never seen before. These are things that I avoided my whole life, not choosing to be a part of, but today I cherish them."

Compulsive gamblers, such as Erickson, suffer from a condition that is just as dangerous and debilitating as drug or alcohol addictions.  Current figures hold that there are approximately six million compulsive gamblers in the United States, and experts expect that number to grow as gambling over the Internet becomes increasingly popular and online gambling sites continue to proliferate.

"I think it's a devastating illness, it's an illness that if it's not treated, it will end up that the person's whole lifestyle will be affected," said the executive director of New Jersey’s Council on Compulsive Gambling, Ed Looney.
Tragically, the problem is affecting young people now more than ever before.  Gambling on college campuses is a particularly popular pastime, with half of all men gambling on a monthly basis.  Just sports betting alone raked in billions of dollars last year.
"Sports betting are the rock of Gibraltar," Looney said. "It's American, like apple pie. That will always be there. People love to bet on it. People love to bet on their football games."

Posted on: January 6, 2006

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