There are six evil consequences in indulging in gambling:

(i) the winner begets hate,
(ii) the loser grieves for lost wealth,
(iii) loss of wealth,
(iv) his word is not relied upon in a court of law,
(v) he is despised by his friends and associates,
(vi) he is not sought after for matrimony; for people would say he is a gambler and is not fit to look after a wife [spouse]...

Gambling is discouraged by the Buddha, as we can see in the Sigalovada Sutta. What are the six channels for dissipating wealth which Buddha does not pursue?

LAS VEGAS - The excitement and risk-taking of betting can change the brain's chemistry and create compulsive gamblers, a Harvard professor told casino executives Thursday during an American Gaming Association seminar.

"Addictive behaviors rewire the brain," Dr. Howard Shaffer, director of Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions, told a group of about 100 hotel-casino officials at the Golden Nugget.

"From my youth I was immeasurably given to table games; through them I made the acquintance of Francisco Sforza, Duke of Milan, and many friends among the nobles. But through the long years I devoted to them, nearly forty, it is not easy to tell how many of my possessions I have lost without compensation. But the dice treated me even worse, because I instructed my sons in the game and opened my house to gamblers. For this I have only feeble excuses: poor birth and the fact that I was not inept at the game...

Woman with gambling addiction admits to casino scam

Shoumin Chai once had a promising future. A law school graduate, she was hired by a New York firm with the promise of a $250,000-a-year job if she passed the bar, her defense attorney said.

Then, she went to Atlantic City with a couple of friends.

"My life stopped the first day I started gambling," Chai said today in Northampton County Court as she admitted to the latest in more than 15 years of casino-related crimes.