Men who are suffering from gambling addictions will often tell you that they are women gamblers at heart. This is often based on their own personal experience, but it is also supported by the fact that many gambling addicts are usually women. Women who are addicted to gambling have a high likelihood of being abused, neglected and sexually exploited.
The addiction treatment center in Israel recruited 17 pathological women gamblers and participated in semi-conducted interviews with each one. Of the eleven women who were admitted to the center, three had been victims of sexual exploitation or abuse. Most of them had experienced such abuse at the hands of their partners, so the extent of the abuse could be compared to that of a man who has experienced the same kind of abuse.
Most of the women who have been victims of this kind of abuse do not realize that they are suffering from such problems until they get treatment for it. Some of the women said that they thought they were merely having a bad day, and when they were treated badly and with abuse, they began to see that their problems were similar to those of men who have had similar experiences. Others said that they did not even know they had been sexually exploited.
Some of the women said that they became addicted to gambling because they had abusive relationships in the past, so they became addicted to gambling as well. They did not realize that their behaviors had been damaging, even when they were experiencing real pain and suffering. They did not think that the pain they were experiencing was worth the profits they made, since they did not realize that they were having a bad day.
In addition, some of these women gamblers did not have enough information about how to prevent abusive behaviors. This is because the people who abused them in the past had no control over them and could easily change their behavior if given the chance. If the abusive behaviors continue, they will eventually be in more danger, since they will be more vulnerable to abusers.
Most of the women gamblers who were interviewed said that the main reason they became addicted to gambling was because they were not able to stop doing it. One woman admitted that she gambled to pay for medical bills, but she said that her addiction became so bad that she was unable to quit because she was just going through so much pain and suffering.