What is the difference between Pathological Gambling, Compulsive Gambling, and Gambling Addiction?
There is no difference in the actual activity, only in the wording. Pathological Gambling is the formal term used by the American Psychiatric Association and clinicians since 1980 when it was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is now considered a psychological addiction, therefore the term Gambling Addiction is a term frequently used by mental health professionals. Compulsive Gambling is the everyday term used by most people, including professionals. Prior to this, until the early 1900s, the more common term was “Habitual Gambling.