Gambling and Online Gaming Addiction — The New Behavioural Crisis | Bharosa

Two years ago, he downloaded a fantasy cricket app to try it once during an IPL match. The first month was harmless fun. The second month, he started losing more than he was winning. The third month, he started chasing his losses with bigger bets, convinced that one big win would put him back on top. By the end of the first year, he had lost most of his savings. He had started taking small loans to keep playing. He had started lying to his wife about their finances. He had started playing during work hours. He had started feeling a physical pull toward the app that he had no idea how to resist. By the second year, he was in serious debt, his marriage was in trouble, and he still could not stop. The app on his phone had become a disease, and until he heard about gambling addiction as a real medical condition, he had genuinely believed he was just weak. He is not weak. He has developed one of the most serious and fastest-growing behavioural addictions in India, and it has treatments that work.

If you or someone you love is caught in online gambling or gaming, please read this blog carefully. At Bharosa, we are seeing more patients with gambling and gaming problems every month, and the trend is particularly worrying among young Indian men. These are real clinical addictions with real consequences, and they need to be treated with the same seriousness as alcohol or drug addiction. Help exists. Please do not wait.

Gambling Disorder and Gaming Disorder Are Real Clinical Conditions

Gambling disorder is formally recognised by the American Psychiatric Association in its diagnostic manual as a behavioural addiction — the first non-substance addiction to be officially classified this way. The World Health Organization has recognised gaming disorder in the ICD-11, which was a major step for the field. The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health supports extensive research on both conditions and their treatment.

Both conditions share the core features of addiction — loss of control, compulsive use despite harm, preoccupation, withdrawal-like symptoms when unable to engage, tolerance (needing more to achieve the same effect), and continuation despite serious consequences to health, relationships, work, and finances. The brain circuits involved are very similar to those involved in substance addictions. This is why the treatment approaches draw from the same principles.

Why Online Gambling and Gaming Have Exploded in India

Three things have combined to create a new wave of behavioural addiction in India over the past few years. First, smartphone penetration has made digital gambling and gaming available to hundreds of millions of people who previously had no access. Second, the rise of fantasy sports, online rummy and poker apps, real-money gaming apps, and sports betting platforms has created legal and semi-legal channels for large-scale gambling engagement. Third, aggressive advertising — often featuring major celebrities — has normalised these activities and positioned them as skill-based entertainment rather than gambling.

The problem is compounded by the fact that these apps are designed using the same behavioural engineering principles as slot machines — variable reward schedules, near-wins, social proof, push notifications, and in-app purchases. They are optimised to maximise engagement, not user wellbeing. Young men, who are often the primary target audience, are the most vulnerable demographic to developing problematic use.

The Warning Signs of Gambling Disorder

Preoccupation with gambling — spending significant mental energy thinking about gambling, planning the next session, or reliving past sessions. Needing to gamble with increasing amounts to achieve the same excitement. Making repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut back or stop. Feeling restless or irritable when trying to cut down. Gambling to escape problems or to relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression. Chasing losses — returning after losing money in order to get even. Lying to hide the extent of gambling. Risking or losing significant relationships, jobs, or opportunities because of gambling. Relying on others to provide money to relieve desperate financial situations caused by gambling. Four or more of these in the past year point to gambling disorder that deserves proper treatment.

The Warning Signs of Gaming Disorder

Loss of control over gaming — difficulty limiting time, frequency, or intensity of gaming. Increasing priority given to gaming over other interests and daily activities. Continuation or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences — on work, education, sleep, relationships, or mental health. The pattern must be severe enough to cause significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, or occupational functioning, and it must have been present for at least 12 months for a formal diagnosis (though shorter periods may also warrant attention).

Gaming disorder often co-occurs with depression, anxiety, ADHD, or social difficulties. The gaming may have started as a way of coping with these underlying issues and gradually taken over. Treatment needs to address both the gaming and whatever is driving it.

The Cascade of Consequences

Untreated gambling and gaming addiction typically produces a cascade of problems. Financial — debt, loss of savings, borrowing from family and lenders, sometimes criminal activity to fund continued use. Relationships — damage to marriages and family relationships from deception, neglect, and the behavioural effects of the addiction. Work or education — loss of productivity, missed deadlines, job loss, dropping out of studies. Health — poor sleep, poor eating, neglect of physical health. Mental health — depression, anxiety, shame, and in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. The suicide rate in untreated gambling disorder is particularly high and deserves serious attention.

The financial consequences often bring the problem to crisis before the mental health consequences are recognised. Many patients come for help only after the debt has become unmanageable. Earlier intervention is always better, but help is also available at the crisis point, and recovery is possible from even very difficult situations.

How Gambling and Gaming Addiction Are Treated

Treatment usually combines several approaches. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the most widely used and evidence-based treatment for both gambling and gaming disorder. CBT helps the person understand their patterns, identify triggers, build alternative coping strategies, and gradually rebuild a life that does not revolve around the addictive behaviour. Motivational interviewing is often used alongside CBT. Group treatment, including support groups based on the 12-step model, can be valuable for some people.

Treating underlying mental health conditions is essential. Depression, anxiety, and ADHD are very commonly present in people with gambling or gaming disorder. Treating these conditions is often as important as treating the addictive behaviour itself. Medication for co-occurring conditions can help, though there is no specific medication for gambling or gaming addiction itself.

Family involvement is often valuable. Partners and parents are often deeply affected and need their own support. Financial counselling and practical steps to manage debt and restrict access to gambling or gaming platforms are also important parts of comprehensive treatment.

How Bharosa Treats Gambling and Gaming Disorder

At Bharosa, our consultant MD Psychiatrists and clinical team assess and treat behavioural addictions in our LB Nagar facility. We take gambling and gaming addiction as seriously as any other addiction, because the research clearly shows they deserve it.

Treatment typically combines Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, assessment and treatment of co-occurring depression, anxiety, or ADHD, family support to help spouses and parents navigate the situation, and practical strategies for breaking the cycle. Recovery takes time and consistent effort, but it is real, and many of our patients achieve full recovery and rebuild their lives.

The message we want every reader to take from this blog is that gambling and gaming addictions are clinical problems, not character flaws. They are increasingly common in India and are treatable with proper care. If you are struggling, or if you are worried about someone you love, please reach out. The longer you wait, the deeper the debt becomes — financial, relational, and emotional. The earlier you start, the easier recovery is. Help is available in Hyderabad today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is fantasy sports gambling?

A: The legal question is complex, but from an addiction medicine standpoint, the behavioural pattern and brain effects are very similar.

Q: Can gaming really be addictive?

A: Yes. Gaming disorder is formally recognised by the World Health Organization.

Q: Will I need to give up games entirely?

A: For severe gaming disorder, abstinence may be recommended. For milder cases, controlled use may be possible. Your clinician will guide this.

Q: What about the debts?

A: We can help connect you with financial counselling. Rebuilding financially is part of long-term recovery.

Q: Does Bharosa treat gambling and gaming addiction in Hyderabad?

A: Yes. Behavioural addiction care is available at our LB Nagar facility.

These addictions are real, and they are treatable. Bharosa offers evidence-based care in Hyderabad. Call +91 95050 58886.