Compulsive Gambling and the Medicalization of Deviance

This paper describes the process whereby excessive gambling is being defined as both a disease and a serious social problem. Gamblers whose repeated losses lead to serious financial and psychological difficulties are increasingly being labeled “compulsive” or “pathological.” I use a model advanced by Conrad and Schneider (1980) to delineate this process. Clinicians developed the prevailing illness model from accounts of those seeking treatment to stop gambling. Although researchers working in natural gambling settings have found little empirical evidence of compulsive behavior, various clinicians and non-medical help groups staunchly advocate a medical model. The latter groups, aided by an increased middle-class awareness, have gained public support and currently control the maintenance of therapeutic programs. Since this control is based more on political dominance than on scientific achievement, the efficacy of prevailing treatment programs can be questioned.