Problem Gambling Revealed as Genetic Condition

Submitted by Evan on Wed, 2010-07-07 at 14:20

Gambling Gene A new study has revealed that a child can inherit a gambling addiction from his or her parents. As is the case with a wide range of additions, problem gambling is, indeed, a genetic problem.

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia studied identical and fraternal twins, with 2700 women and 2000 men taking part in the study. They were all questioned about their gambling habits, revealing that men were twice as likely as women to develop gambling problems. Only 1% of the women met the criteria of a gambling addict, compared to 3% of the men.

“This study represents a major step forward in that it establishes for the first time that genes are as important in the etiology of disordered gambling in women as they are in men,” the researcher team wrote.

The groundbreaking discovery of this study, however, reveals that identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to develop the same addiction. Identical twins have the exact same genetic makeup while fraternal twins only share some of the same genes. If one identical twin develops a gambling addiction, it likely their the brother or sister not far behind, hinting at the possibility that genes do have a great deal to do with the development of a gambling problem.

The research team concluded that despite the presence of a genetic connection, it is unlikely that there is an actual gambling gene.