Is this the Extreme of Gambling Addiction?

[rahmad2nd]

But not all cases of theft and criminal activity are caused by the urge of the suspects to gamble.  There are people who are too lazy to work and find stealing and robbery the easy way to get money.  Aside from that, news and reporters always sensationalized their reporting so even with a little glimpse of gambling addiction as a reason these guys is stealing, they will definitely put it since it is one of the interests of the anti-gambling party.  But there is nowhere stated in the article that these people are stealing to suffice their need to gamble.

right, and I don't think it's "not all" but only a few cases that have a correlation of criminal acts or theft caused by the urge to gamble. some examples of crime cases you have mentioned, such as people who are lazy to work so they look for quick ways to make money from criminal acts or theft.
However, one thing in my opinion has always been the cause of criminal acts. environmental and social factors that are wrong to be the mastermind behind every criminal act, especially in this case is robbery.
even if there are cases that have a correlation of criminal acts caused by the urge to gamble, I think it is only a handful of people, it does not at all represent that every "addicted gambler" will commit a crime.

[robelneo]

The logic behind my conclusion is that, if people who are addicted to gambling would do anything at all costs to win money and for this group they have gone the extreme of breaking and stealing the monies in these gaming machines. This behaviour should be on the far end of the continuum of gambling addiction.

The article is coming from gambling news but there's no verification that group is compulsive gamblers and they decide to steal money from these machines to sustain their gambling addiction, its not on the article but even if they are they will eventually be caught we are in a modern technology where there are hundreds of surveillance camera where ever you go and where there are money expect the security to be very tight or the authorities can still follow because they are good at getting leads if the crime is coming from a public place.

[YOSHIE]

Having read the story do you think that this could be the extreme or a new dimension of gambling addiction?

I have read repeatedly about the burglary actions carried out by that group of people, I take the point as the OP posted below.

“Members of this burglary ring allegedly targeted bars, restaurants, social clubs and other small businesses that have video poker and video gaming machines. They broke into dozens of these establishments in multiple counties and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash out of the machines.“

In my assessment, they could be on the basis of addiction to gambling and suffered consecutive defeats, for that they committed robbery or theft, from the sources I read they had acted repeatedly in cases of theft/robbery, of course they have a group in carrying out their actions, I believe they do that on the basis of disappointment with gambling bets, where maybe they lose every time they make gambling bets, so the only way they do it is robbery, most likely to release their anger and addiction with the act of robbery, Because they only target poker & gaming machines, because they have done it repeatedly and succeeded, so they are addicted to doing it the umpteenth time.

[arimamib]

Their actions are not solely because of gambling addiction, maybe they are doing that shameful act to fulfill the desires of other addictions, such as drugs and alcohol.
It should be underlined, the moral damage of some people or groups is not due to gambling addiction alone, there are many other addictions that can make it difficult for them to control themselves to channel their desires. Gambling addiction is not as severe as drug addiction, so I don't think this group's actions can be attributed to gambling alone.

[pawanjain]

I think that this has nothing to do with gambling addiction because this is something that any thief or scammer would do.
They look for opportunities to rob people. May be those thieves are gamblers who have lost all their money and are now robbing others to gamble more.
But this will again make them thieves rather than gambling addicts. Criminals and addict should not be mixed.

[fortunecrypto]

Their actions are not solely because of gambling addiction, maybe they are doing that shameful act to fulfill the desires of other addictions, such as drugs and alcohol.
It should be underlined, the moral damage of some people or groups is not due to gambling addiction alone, there are many other addictions that can make it difficult for them to control themselves to channel their desires. Gambling addiction is not as severe as drug addiction, so I don't think this group's actions can be attributed to gambling alone.

It was not established, the reason gambling news covered that is because it has something to do with the gambling machines a robber will rob a place if they think they can get away with it, maybe the group cannot do that on banks or other establishment and they saw the weakness of security on these machines that is why plan it, I'm sure one or two of them are gamblers who know that there is a lot of money there if you're not playing there or you have seen people playing there because you frequented that place.

[GatotKaca]

I think that this has nothing to do with gambling addiction because this is something that any thief or scammer would do.
They look for opportunities to rob people. May be those thieves are gamblers who have lost all their money and are now robbing others to gamble more.
But this will again make them thieves rather than gambling addicts. Criminals and addict should not be mixed.

what if someone is addicted to gambling and runs out of money? I believe gambling can make people addicted. because I have friends like that. he plays online gambling and continues to sell the assets he owns when he runs out of money.

this process does not happen in a short time, but long enough. when he loses and still wants to keep playing he will make money from borrowing friends or selling his stuff. when it's all over. want to continue playing gambling which will take him to take risks by stealing other people's belongings. who used to be not thieves, this can be a form of reckless action from gamblers who lose and don't have common sense anymore.

[ralle14]

Having read the story do you think that this could be the extreme or a new dimension of gambling addiction?

It's possible that the people who rob the machines are looking for revenge but still, there's not enough information to say that their gambling addictions were the ones that made them do these.

I'm sure one or two of them are gamblers who know that there is a lot of money there if you're not playing there or you have seen people playing there because you frequented that place.

I agree, when you try to look at their perspective, gambling machines are one of their best targets knowing that gambling is popular.

[Cookdata]

what if someone is addicted to gambling and runs out of money? I believe gambling can make people addicted. because I have friends like that. he plays online gambling and continues to sell the assets he owns when he runs out of money.

Addiction is indeed a bad thing to avoid but what your friend did, it didn't blend into the subject of discussion, doing everything it takes to get money to gamble is a sign of being addicted to gambling but he never steal anyone's money to play or go to casino house to move any of their properties.

this process does not happen in a short time, but long enough. when he loses and still wants to keep playing he will make money from borrowing friends or selling his stuff. when it's all over. want to continue playing gambling which will take him to take risks by stealing other people's belongings. who used to be not thieves, this can be a form of reckless action from gamblers who lose and don't have common sense anymore.

If it reached a point where a player needs to steal money to play any games in a casino, then the person needs to be rehabilitated and check mentally if they are actually stable, that's one of the silliest things a gambler would ever think.

[Hispo]

Having read the story do you think that this could be the extreme or a new dimension of gambling addiction?

There is a remote possibility the people involved in these crimes have a personal history with gambling and that is why they chose to target those locations and machines, but I would say it is unlikey considering this kind of heists have taken place before and by people who were just driven by the money and saw the chance to steal it from machines rather by mugging people.

I believe there are people within the police and inteligence agencies whose job is to build a profile of criminals whenever it is required and perphaps the profile of any of these guys who got arrested could link their behavior with a life of some kind of frustration, but since these profiles are not often released to the public, I'll consider this case to have little to nothing to do with gambling addiction whatsoever.

[PX-Z]

No, this is simply a crime. What those group done is thief and its not a form of gambling, they may target these poker gaming machines knowing they knew how and where to break or they knew the process of breaking it easily.

This is not gambling addiction this is thievery, abuse and a crime. You can't call it a gambling addiction without gambling/playing in the machine or platform.

[Oilacris]

I think that this has nothing to do with gambling addiction because this is something that any thief or scammer would do.
They look for opportunities to rob people. May be those thieves are gamblers who have lost all their money and are now robbing others to gamble more.
But this will again make them thieves rather than gambling addicts. Criminals and addict should not be mixed.

Yeah crime and gambling add are two different things, this article is more about scam/crime rather than side effects of gambling addiction.
 Addicted gambler can hurt close circle around him and that is why mostly they are called degenerates in some discussions. Kinda debatable case, maybe they will put back all robbed money after hot winning streak, who knows. Anyways, it is crime and the thieves should face consequences.

Whenever you do commit on doing something that it is related on illegal then it would really be still a crime no matter how you've done it and this is what happens whenever you do tolerate out

on what you do really have in mind whether it is really coming or resulting from addiction or something on a situation where desperation on getting some money or funds is on the peak.

It wont matter on where you do it starts because you had already mold that kind of intent which is something that considered illegal.If you do find yourself to be that impulsive or emotional then you should really be that mindful on avoiding things as much as you could.

[Fortify]

So I was surfing the gamblingnews.com website to get the latest information in the gambling world. I found this interesting story which I kept pondering on to understand whether this is the extreme or a new dimension of gambling addiction or not. I am tempted to think that it is because the gang according to the news, targets only businesses that have video poker and video gaming machines. And so far they have stolen a total of $400K from gambling machines. The logic behind my conclusion is that, if people who are addicted to gambling would do anything at all costs to win money and for this group they have gone the extreme of breaking and stealing the monies in these gaming machines. This behaviour should be on the far end of the continuum of gambling addiction. Below is the story¹.

Having read the story do you think that this could be the extreme or a new dimension of gambling addiction?

You seem to have gambling addiction and pure criminal activity mixed up. These are simply thieves, who determined that gambling machines generated a lot of money and were a worthy target for stealing. They had no interest in playing the games on those machines and may never have played on a gambling machine in their whole lives, they were purely drive by taking the money that was inside them. People who are addicted to gambling can often be so focused on finding money for a particular game that they might use illegal methods to get more money, but in every other aspect of their life they might have relative control. That being said, low level gamblers like people who get hooked on slot machines, often struggle with basic finance and sums.

[Viscore]

I think that is plain burglary.  There is nowhere in the article stated that those burglars involved were gambling addicts.  I think they targeted establishments with gambling games because they knew that there is money to get from the machines.  They target of these machines is not to play or gamble but to commit a crime by stealing the money that is inside the machine.

Whether they are gamblers or not, the main focus of these people is to steal thousands of dollars, which is plain burglary. And I think they are used to it entering into establishments intentionally to commit stealing or any act of crime. Maybe they also used to gamble on the money they’ve stolen, but nevertheless, these people are trained as thieves and not as gamblers.

[kamvreto]

I think the same as you, the case mentioned by Op is a robbery and has nothing to do with gambling addiction. they just want the money that is in the casino machines. whereas if a person is addicted to extreme gambling he will steal money from other places and start gambling just to satisfy his gambling appetite. and also people who are addicted to gambling will not have rational thoughts and tend to get out of control, they are also antisocial and aggressive.

Excess of everything is bad, be it gambling or alcohol or anything else.
Even I know someone - who was so fond of reading books that he used to read one book everyday, he had a great collection of books and later he got the sinus problem and doctor who came to him - ordered to remove all the books from his room. Believe it or not.

I agree with your opinion that overdoing it is not good. But let's return to the main topic of discussion about extreme gambling addiction. Gambling addiction is a problem that must be handled properly and correctly. because addicts will do anything to satisfy their gambling desires. a gambling addict will be different from a thief who just wants to make money.

I think that is plain burglary.  There is nowhere in the article stated that those burglars involved were gambling addicts.  I think they targeted establishments with gambling games because they knew that there is money to get from the machines.  They target of these machines is not to play or gamble but to commit a crime by stealing the money that is inside the machine.

~snip~ Maybe they also used to gamble on the money they’ve stolen, but nevertheless, these people are trained as thieves and not as gamblers.

They are already aiming for the money in the gambling machine with a well-planned plan and using various methods. they are indeed thieves and not gambling addicts, they have never even been associated with any kind of gambling.