In a revealing study conducted by CasinosForMoney, it has been shown that there is a link between genetics and gambling and that it can be inherited. An in-depth academic literature review on twin studies and genetics confirms the heredity of gambling and identifies gambling genes.
Some other findings of the study include:
- What is the prevalence of problematic gambling?
- Why does gambling become addictive?
- Gambling and gender: who gambles more and on what?
- What are the genetic links?
Amongst other aspects worth highlighting:
The study not only delves into gambling as a disorder but interestingly looks at cross-cultural and gender studies. While gambling has been shown to take place amongst both genders, men or young adults are more at risk than other groups. The article details all these groups in descending order, from the most likely groups to those less likely to develop a gambling addiction.
Identifying gambling issues
People can be predisposed to gambling – if they are predisposed to it, all they need is that certain psychological and environmental factors to come together at the same time to get the addiction wheel into motion. From a psychological profile, problem gamblers often have very competitive personalities and may often suffer from certain biases such as over confidence or over- optimism besides other traits highlighted in the literature review.
Gambling, genes & DNA testing
Genetic studies and identical twin studies have proved indispensable to help scientists study and understand links between the environment and genetics and how genetics and the environment can affect the ways our genes work. If one twin exhibits a certain trait and that trait is also observed in the other twin, it could indicate a likely gene involvement. Obviously, scientists need to compute the extent to which environmental factors can also affect that particular trait or characteristic.
Looking at twins and gambling patterns in one large-scale study did confirm a likelihood that a gene or more genes are implicated in gambling.
The review compiled by CasinosForMoney also draws upon the huge interest people have in establishing a link with genetics through DNA testing; today companies online sell DNA testing for sports propensities/ abilities, Skin DNA testing, personality DNA testing and many more such tests – so can one get tested to check whether they carry a genetic predisposition to gambling? If this is possible, what are the actual genes scientists have identified?
The article can be found here: https://www.casinosformoney.com/ca/the-facts-figures-and-genetics-of-compulsive-gambling/
