Gambling Article

If you or a relative is experiencing an addiction to gambling, it can be one of the most anxious times of your life. You are involved in an entrapment that is so hard to get rid of. This is why gambling addiction treatment centers are part of the treatment process because they know that this is an illness and a disease that needs to be addressed sooner than later.

No one says it will be very easy to be treated for this disease especially if you have the mindset and belief that this is no big deal and nothing is wrong with having a little fun and entertainment in life. If you go to treatment with this kind of attitude, you won’t be helped. It will be pointless and useless and you will only go back to your old habit.

Success in treatment will have to be a transformation and renewal of your mind because you will have to understand the negative impact that gambling brings to not only you, but to your family members and close people who are around you.

However, your gambling addiction will not end your life. It is only a time in your life that you are distracted and in an uncontrolled situation that can be remedied with gambling addiction treatment centers and their resources.

There are a lot of people that do enter treatment and take it very seriously because they want to have their life back. These are the poeple who will experience some success in their gambling habits. However, the key is to keep away from any influences that would trigger the crave for this addiction. Keep away from casinos, sports betting places and anywhere that the idea will enter your mind.

Without treatment, the gambling addiction will continue and they will not have a life that is productive or normal.

Seeking professional help from gambling addiction treatment centers is the method of choice because this is something for the experts to deal with. It requires much more than a pat on the back. It is something that can overtake someone’s life and needs to be addressed in a professional way.

In most cases, it will take the help of family members and friends to get the addict into treatment. The addict will probably not enter treatment on their own. They will not think of treatment during their addiction. This would be the furthest thing from their minds.

Most gambling addiction treatment centers have the right kind of resources and services that will help the person to see their erring ways and want to change. They will be taught various life skills and social skills to get them in a better frame of mind; to think about others and not just themselves.

Upon admission that they have a problem, this is the addict who will gain the most from treatment. However, if the person is in denial, it makes it harder for them to embrace treatment and get the help that they deserve.

Find more information on Gambling Rehab Centers. Helpful and informative information on Gambling Treatment Facilities is available.

The excitement and popularity of the gambling games entices few players to own their own gaming equipments. Mini blackjack tables and poker tables are quite famous among the buyers.

The most common and perhaps inexpensive of the gambling equipments is the dice. Dice games are so ancient that their inventor is unknown by the historians. However, that the dice games prevailed in almost all the early civilizations is an established fact. the initial dice were animal bones, fruit stones, small pebbles or ivory. Today, dice has acquired much more precision with its cubical shape. While the standard dice is crude and used in households games, casino dice is more accurate and perfect. The casino dice, also called the ‘perfect dice’ is made in a manner that each side weighs equal after the holes have been punctured on each side. This enables equal probability of either side being the outcome. Serious gamblers use casino die in their games. Casinos have dice tolls available with them like the dice punches and dice vices.

Cards have been played by many civilizations. The first pack of cards was made of thick paper with hand painted figures on them. The modern cards got their suits and faces in France. The French deck consisted of 78 cards. The deck comprised of both gaming and tarot cards. The tarot cards were then separated to reduce the number of cards in the deck. The cards were adopted by the Europeans and traveled to America where the joker was added to them. Cards are inexpensive to procure. Many people are fond of collecting various casino cards. These cards have the casino’s logo imprinted on them. The casino cards can either be bridge size or poker wide.

Casino tables vary according to the style game one is playing i.e. poker has different table than the blackjack. One table can cost the buyer some thousand dollars. The table can either be a standard one or customized. The tables differ in quality according to the price. The table face has a woolen felt surface with the game’s name marked. The odds and the areas for placing the bets is also demarcated. A person interested low on budget or keen on building his own table can do so with the help of various blueprints available.

Poker has gained momentum over the years. The game was given a tremendous boost when the televised tournaments were organized by sports channels a few years back. Since then every poker player dreams to make it big. Online tournaments are also conducted. The basic poker requirements consist of grade cards, heavyweight chips and dice sets. Enthusiasts can also buy automatic card shufflers.

Bingo a famous and simple game popular among all age groups consists of simple equipment. The entire requirements are contained in the bingo kit, which can be bought from the market. The kit usually comprises of bingo cards, hand cranked ball cage, bingo balls and markers. The players can diversify and go for other instruments like the daubers.

The thrill and excitement of gambling has found players every where. Legalized gambling in cities like the Las Vegas and state owned lotteries boost the gambling economy. Poker groups are formulated in colleges, workplaces and are a perennial source of recreation. All these trends ensure a promising future to the gambling industry

Mansi aggarwal writes about gambling equipment. Learn more at http://www.gamblingequipmentfun.com

Most people look at avid gamblers and think that they just like the entertainment. However, it is just like anything else. Too much of it can literally destroy your life. I think most people are unaware of the fact that gambling can be an addiction that is very similar to a drug. The vast majority of people suffering from gambling addiction find the transition from recreational fun to addict to be very fuzzy. They do not understand exactly when it became a true problem for them. However, in this article I want to make it clear about what a gambling addiction looks like so that you can self-evaluate to see whether you have a significant problem or not.

Symptom #1: You need to be secretive

When you get to the point that you have to lie about how much you are gambling, you know that it is probably too much. Obviously, not telling people you don’t know well might be one thing, but hiding it from others who are close to you is entirely different. An addict will often lie to even people that are close to them.

Symptom #2: You are having trouble setting your boundaries

A recreational gambler can go into a casino with a $20 bill and ensure that they do not spend more than that. Someone with an addiction though will go in with the mind of only spending that $20 bill but in the end they find themselves at an ATM or using a credit card.

Symptom #3: Gambling even if you don’t have the money

Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck. This means that not everyone has extra money left over after they pay the bills and buy groceries. If you are using credit cards or funding your gambling with loans then you likely have a gambling issue. This is an extreme red flag that you could be addicted.

Symptom #4: Friends and family are concerned about you

Obviously the above three symptoms are subjective. Someone who is truly addicted would look at those symptoms and perhaps make excuses for themselves about why they are not truly addicted. They might believe that just because they borrowed money doesn’t mean they are addicted. Or perhaps just because they spend a little more money than they had planned every time, that’s like going to a car dealership and never buying a car. Eventually you will. This situation is quite different though! Knowing that family and friends are concerned is a good indication that they have seen that you gamble to much to be considered just a recreational gambler.

The biggest concern isn’t want our family and friends think though. It is our walk with Jesus Christ that is the biggest concern. Most addicts find themselves in a situation where Money or Gambling itself has become a bigger focus than God himself. Therefore, even though the bible doesn’t directly mention gambling as a sin, having an addiction or passion that sits in our heart in the place of where God should sit is a sin. Getting help for an addiction can be quite problematic, as one wonders not only about the competency of the practitioner, but will he or she be able to relate to my unique personal struggles. Addiction help doesn’t have to be a mountain, and sometimes finding a good Christian counselor can put a healthy spin on your unique circumstances.

Are you struggling with a gambling addiction? Sometimes intervention is needed, and having insight from a trained practitioner can make the difference.

http://www.christianhelpforaddictiononline.com
http://www.marijuanasideeffects.org

Which one should be given first priority?

This is one question that the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III needs to answer right away. The sense of urgency demands no less.

Reality of course dictates that the new administration must take stock of its resources before doing so. If haste makes waste, it cannot just fly off in every direction just to get burned out a short time later.

It would be better for Pres. Aquino to rein in the urge to be all over the place at the same time and avert the danger of being spread too thin in the process.

One concern that it needs to go slow is the problem that is illegal gambling.

Considering the magnitude of the problem, it is only right for Pres. Aquino to count the cost before taking the bull by its horns. It is better to wait for the right timing and reap dividends than wading mindlessly into a fight it will eventually lose.

It is easy to play to the gallery considering the many voices calling for a search-and-rescue operation against all known gambling syndicates.

Like many things in life, the problem with this war is not it cannot be won on body count. You may arrest all those engaged in the illegal gambling operation, only to realize that the problem is not so much with the bet takers but with the bettors.

It is not unlike the problem with illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. People may rave and rant against those who peddle them but conveniently neglect the fact that the law on supply and demand still holds.

For as long as there is a demand, the supply will find a way to be there.

Indeed, for as long as the culture and the environment that make gambling an attractive proposition, there will be no end to the problem in the Philippines. Just after authorities dismantle a syndicate, a new one will be in place in no time.

How can you put an end to illegal gambling for as gambling in other forms are legalized and tolerated? To the poor who cannot afford the government-run small town lotteries (STL) and casinos, it is simply compartmentalized justice.

In depriving the poor of their right to gamble, this plays right into the argument of trouble-makers that only the rich has rights in this government.

For starters, it would be better off for the Aquino administration to completely prohibit the opening of new casinos in the Philippines. It should also put a stop to the STL.

Of course, the bigger challenge would be restoring the people’s faith in the system and in improving the economy. Lick them and illegal gambling will die a natural death. Fail this and illegal gambling will be with us for life.

This opinion is based on published philippine news. Another way of understanding current affairs and issues in the Philippines is to read a daily balita publication that tackles both regional and national news.

According to IRS section 61, “Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived…” This includes gambling sources of income. There are many assumptions about when to claim the winnings received from casinos. While most understand that the winnings are taxable, many assume that they are reportable only if the casino presents them with a tax form to be filed with their returns. The correct assumption by the taxpayer should be that ANY and ALL winnings should be included in their returns, regardless of the documentation given to them by the casino. In fact, in the event of an IRS audit, a taxpayer having only those tax documents given to them by the casino risks losing all of their claimed gambling loss deductions and potentially paying tax on more than the winnings reported on their provided W-2G.

IRS Publication 529 cautions casual gambling taxpayers to be diligent with maintaining proper documentation of all gambling activities. Yes, this means another log book to keep up with. The information suggested by the publication to be documented includes, the date and type of specific wagering activity, the name and address of the gambling establishment, the names of other people present with you at the establishment, and the amounts of your winnings and losses. Maybe, the most important information to have recorded is the winnings and losses…listed separately. That’s right, no netting the totals at the end of the year and throwing that figure in your tax return, especially if you are among those reporting only losses. So, how are we to delineate our winnings and losses and at what point in time?

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) does not offer specific guidelines on how to determine when winnings and losses occur, but does state that end-of-the-year netting is not allowed. Thankfully, Federal tax law gives guidance in George D. and Lillian M. Shollenberger v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo. 2009-306, and Szkircsak v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1980-129.Gambling activity should be accounted for by “sessions.” According to the courts, the beginning and ending of each session, or transaction, as it is described in the Shollenberger v. IRS case, is critical in determining the net win or loss to record. With no specific rules defining a session in the IRC, we can infer from the courts that it would be too cumbersome to expect a gambler to log each pull of the lever at a slot machine or each hand played at the poker table as an individual session, but rather the net outcome of a series of lever pulls or hands played in a single session. The net total from that session is then recorded as the win or loss. These session wins are logged separately from session losses and are then recorded on the individual’s tax return, with total winnings reported on line 21 on Form 1040 and total losses reported on Schedule A of the 1040. Remember, deductions for losses greater than winnings are not allowed.

Complying with the reporting rules of the IRS can be somewhat burdensome, but with the increased number of gambling establishments in recent years, it is inevitable that more and more audits are going to be directed at those tax returns with reported gambling income. Keeping documentation for gambling income and deductions follows the logic used in requiring documentation for other types of income and documentation such as standard W-2s and Form 1099s, receipts for purchases, and mileage reimbursement logs.

It is wise to seek further advice from a tax professional to plan your tax strategy before you decide to take a chance with the casinos. For more information about this and other tax strategies, please visit us at http://abs1040.com/

My name is Dustin Daehn. I work with Associated Business Services in Montgomery Alabama. We provide accounting services to businesses and individuals. We have the advantage of being able to serve clients worldwide with our web-based accounting software giving access to clients who desire at least some involvement with their accounting and tax services. We are able to import your information and complete the accounting process to a finalized product, whether that product be a tax return for you or your business, payroll services, financial statements, or complete management of your business’s finances. For more information about how we can help you with your needs, please contact me at http://abs1040.com/