Gambling is an activity where people risk something of value – usually money – based on a chance outcome, such as the roll of a dice or spin of a roulette wheel. It can also involve betting on games of skill, such as poker or sports wagering, or even virtual gambling activities, like online casinos and daily fantasy leagues. For many people, gambling provides excitement and entertainment and, when conducted responsibly, can help people relax and reduce their stress.

However, gambling can have a variety of negative and harmful effects on the gambler and others in his/her life. These impacts can be grouped into three classes: costs and benefits, and they occur at the personal, interpersonal and societal/community levels.

Costs can include financial distress, relationship breakdown, health problems, substance use disorders, stigma and income-generating crime (theft, fraud), including money laundering. Social harms can also be severe, and can include family violence, neglect of children, and erosion of civil institutions via corruption and corporate political activity.

Benefits can include an opportunity to interact with friends, and the chance to win prizes or other rewards. Gambling can also be a fund-raising activity for charities. Bingo nights, raffles and casino nights generate millions of dollars every year for non-profit organisations, schools and hospitals in the UK alone.

In addition, the economic benefits of gambling can include jobs created in casinos, increased consumer spending, and infrastructure improvements funded by tax revenues. There is a wide range of research that has identified various positive and negative effects of gambling. A number of common methodological limitations, however, have hampered the development of robust, replicable evidence on the potential harms and benefits of gambling.