Whenever people are told about the 12 steps, many only think of chemical-based addiction disorders which is wrong. Gambling addiction is a global problem and its impact on society is just as devastating as other addictions. The hard thing about treating a gambling addiction is that many people don’t realize that they are addicted until it is too late and the losses are impossible to recover which is why these books should be bought even if you don’t have the red flags. Here is a look at the top-10 rated books that can help you or your loved ones understand and recover from a gambling addiction that you can find on Amazon…

Know When To Hold `Em: A Guide For Spouses Of Problem Gamblers – Buy Now on Amazon

It is hard being the spouse of a person struggling with gambling addiction because in most cases, you never realize what is happening until you see the bank coming to repossess your house or worse. It all starts as entertainment and when the losses increase, most victims become withdrawn from their loved ones and start struggling alone trying to recover the money they have lost by gambling more money and more recklessly which only makes it worse.

If you are the spouse, it would be great if you knew what is happening before things turn sour and when you do, you have to know how to handle it. This book has all the help you need to protect yourself and your assets and also help your spouse avoid addiction or recover from it. It doesn’t just teach you when to hold them, it also teaches you when to ask the hard questions and when to walk away if necessary.

Keeping Beau’s Secret: A True Story Of Love And Gambling Addiction – Buy Now on Amazon

This is another book that focuses on how gambling addiction can affect the spouses of the victim as they struggle to both help but also keep their spouse’s problem a secret. This is a true story written by Gracie Kennett that follows her love life with a compulsive gambler. The story starts as a simple chance meeting and the descent into chaos as her lover gambled and lost more and more leading to lots of lies, cheating, stealing and more tragedies that resulted from the addiction. It is not just a story of crisis though; it is also a narrative that marks out the red flags and tells you the various steps you can take to avoid tragedy when living with a gambling addict. This book is also an eye-opener for gamblers on how they can protect their loved ones before burning everything to ashes.

Gambling Disorder – Buy Now on Amazon

When exactly should pathological gambling be considered an addiction and what conditions allow gamblers to descend into riskier and more damaging bets? This book authored by Springer Nature Switzerland takes a scientific approach to the causes of addiction and practical personal and societal solutions that can help gamblers avoid the deep end. It is a rich read for anyone who is unsure about whether their gambling is becoming addictive. It is also useful for anyone living with or trying to help someone who may be struggling with a gambling addiction.

Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling In Las Vegas – Buy Now on Amazon

The casino industry has been blamed for profiting off gambling addiction for centuries, but at no time has that been worse than this age of slot machine gambling. Those colours, sounds and ambience are designed to achieve what Natasha Dow Schull calls “maximum time on a device.” The environment from the casino floor to the slot machine and the ambience in the casino disconnects gambling from their real-world causing them to play, not even for the winning but only so that they can play even more. However, the longer time you spend on the slots while gambling alone, whether it is online or in a casino, comes at the cost of physical and economic exhaustion and many never notice it until after losing their last dime.

Gambling Addiction: Can You Afford The Losses Of The Game? – Buy Now on Amazon

It all starts as a simple fun trip to the casino to “spin a few rounds” and it only gets worse when your first stake wins because when you start losing, you easily lose track of your losses. The key to avoiding addiction in gambling is walking away while you are ahead, and in most cases, ahead doesn’t have to mean that you are winning. Being ahead in gambling is only as good as being able to afford your losses, both socially and financially. This book explores the various stages of a gambling addiction problem that the victim and their families can track to protect themselves. It also tells you how to keep family in mind when gambling and how to protect them even when doing what you consider to be non-risky bets.

You Can’t Lose Them All: The Tale Of A Degenerate Gambler And His Ridiculous Friends – Buy Now on Amazon

Cousin Sal is one of those people everyone goes to for tips on how not to gamble their livelihoods away. He is the mind behind the famous “Against All Odds” books, podcasts and algorithms that many in Vegas use as their safety net against gambling their lives away. This book is a dive into his life as a gambler on how he has bet with many people from a wide range of backgrounds and how his interesting life of gambling full of losses and disappointments somehow took shape in the end.

The book explores the life of a carefree young man forced to adult into a responsible adult through the dangerous gambling industry where doom and survival are always a stake apart and your choices with your next bet could ruin your life forever. It is a book about balance, where gamblers are taught to attach weights to friends and family while flipping cards.

Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way Of Understanding Addiction – Buy Now on Amazon

Our society looks at people addicted to substances or practices such as gambling, alcohol and other drugs as broken members of society. However, the approach to addiction as a mental disorder rather than a learning disability affects how addicts are treated in society and also hinders the recovery of many according to the author of this NYT bestseller Maia Szalavitz. The author offers a different perspective on society’s view of addiction and her opinion on some of the therapies offered to addicts around the world. Her perspective may be the eye-opener that you and your loved ones need to re-evaluate and avoid or manage gambling addiction.

It Takes Family: Creating Lasting Sobriety, Togetherness And Happiness – Buy Now on Amazon

Many people look at managing addiction solely as a personal journey but that is not really the case. Interventionist and educator Debra Jay believes that love is the key to lasting recovery and sobriety. She proposes steps for people worried about getting addicted to involve family and loved ones at whatever stage of crisis they may be in. When love and family is involved, recovery becomes a family effort and the safety net for the addict only grows bigger.

Gripped By Gambling – Buy Now on Amazon

When people think of gambling addicts, they forget that women are also affected just as badly as men which is why Marilyn Lancelot wrote this book to bridge that gap. Lancelot explains how she threw her life down the drain starting with alcohol addiction which led her to prescription drugs and later, gambling. Her addiction caused her to embezzle funds that saw her jailed for two years and her family didn’t know what was happening until after she was arrested. She has been in recovery for over two decades now and hosts Gambling Anonymous meetings for women in her home town and also has a website where women struggling with addiction can seek help.

Stock Market Gambling Addiction Help – Buy Now on Amazon

Stop-loss orders rarely work once you start losing money in the stock market trading and what many people don’t realize is that stock market trading is no different from a casino. From panic selling and buying to penny stocks and out of money stocks, everything on those apps and websites is gaping sinkholes that can consume all your money. Novice stock traders, day and swing traders and even the most experienced people in the industry lose more money every day than slot machine gamblers. This book dives into the design of that industry and how much worse it is than gambling and also when to cut your losses and walk away with your life still intact.