Topic: Should mentally unstable people be allowed to gamble? - page 21. (Read 2442 times)

That's discrimination the attendant already said that he never misbehaved or caused any trouble so he has the privilege to play unless that physical casino has a rule barring people with unusual behavior from staying on their premises but then again they have to check the background and examine the person because looks can be deceiving.
When it comes online, there's nothing in their terms that will tell gamblers to submit their mental or health condition, it's up to gamblers to examine themselves if they are fit to play online, when it comes to gambling it's always been played at your own risk.
Yes, gambling is a great source of entertainment but it can also become a source of mental anguish, so examine yourself if you can take all the risk in gambling.

I assume that some physical signs can show that someone is not mentally stable. And I pointed to the fact that can such a person be barred from gambling based on some of these clear physical signs and not a psychiatric check.

I don't think it is all mentally unstable people that are violent. I also feel that the ability to work and gamble is not a yardstick to conclude that somebody is sound. Many emotionally unbalanced people still work and are not violent.   

I was surprised when I read the post title. There's nothing wrong if someone who is mentally unstable wants to gamble. Gambling is open to everyone, even those facing mental health challenges. As long as they can place bets and participate in the games, they should be able to enjoy gambling like anyone else. It would be unfair to deny them this right just because of their mental health. I appreciate that the attendant in your post was kind to all customers, regardless of their situation. Sadly, in my local area, I've witnessed people treating mentally unstable individuals poorly, refusing to sell to them even if they have money. They seem repulsed when these individuals come near them. I don't understand why mentally unstable people shouldn't be allowed to gamble.

      -  I think that even if the condition of a gambler is the same, we should not judge only based on the physical condition. And from what I saw based on your story, you judged that. Because when you first asked, you were told that the one you say is unstable is a regular customer.

How did you say unstable? Is it because of his bad condition physically? In the first place, no one is physically harmed every time they go there, right? So I think you should check yourself first before thinking bad things about other people. This is just what I thought, because what I saw in you is that I think you are also wrong in my opinion.

Why do I care in the first place? he has the money and the knowledge about what he was doing so who are we to ask or question his intention or what his right or and the other costumers ?
for me as long as he did not steal for money there is nothing to be care for , because gambling is a business like restaurant that they will serve whatever costumer they have as long as they can pay(of course depending in what kind of restaurant because others has a dress code or attire) so why not the gambling houses need to implement something?

This is a very funny topic, gambling on it's own can make someone to become mentally ill or unstable, and you are asking if someone who is mentally unstable can be allowed to gamble? Thanks for making me laugh on Christmas day, I really needed that, the answer is no, it's a very bad idea because I believe it will just worsen the case of such person.

My question for you OP is how you know he is mentally unsound, there are many reasons why someones look will be like that of their with mental issues, and describing that he wore a dirty dress and also his hairs sounds like someone who is very poor or have mental illness but still it doesn't mean he is.

Not even the attendant knows this, so to me he is not an example of a mentally ill person, he is free to gamble anytime he want, someone with mental issue will only have to visit once and he will be banned from the casino because it doesn't take too long to know that someone has mental issues.

Op I presume that man is rather not mentally unstable in the real sense of the word but could be he's gone through a lot which has made him a depressed thereby living a certain kind of life out of the normal.

Mentally deranged or unstable persons are well known for their violent behaviors of causing harm to others, they don't work for money neither have a sense to gamble for money but this man from the op does the opposite which makes me count him as not mentally unstable but as someone suffering from a depressive condition from life's challenges that had overwhelmed him making him to care less of himself

  Well, it's not just about the moral, ethical or legal application to the matter but it's whether or not people will be comfortable and relaxed to gamble together with mentally deranged person(s) as they would with sane persons like them.

I think the logical answer to that is "No.". I mean what if their disease gets worse just because of gambling more? In most cases physical casinos would try to avoid that happening so if ever they see someone who is acting like they have a behavioral problem, they will take them out of the building.

In your example though, the man never did anything wrong, and how are we going to prove that he is mentally unstable if he had done nothing yet? I've never seen a man go wild in a physical casino because of a mental problem but I've seen clips on social media and I think the most popular one was the man who got naked and climbed one table dancing on it. It is proof that we cannot judge anyone just based on their looks, what if they are really normal and dislike posing as a rich man wearing good clothes before they gambler?
There are other people who dress clean and yet on the inside they have more problems than those people living in the streets.

Well, it depends on the 2 perspectives that will determine if an unstable person could be doing gambling or not. One side is yes, they should not be allowed to play gambling as the word implies "unstable," meaning they are not in the right mind and right state to play gambling as they can't think straight, they could waste too much money, they cannot be controlled by anyone, and they could cause a ruckus in a casino or something, but this perspective is from someone in society.

But from the perspective of a casino owner, of course, business is business no matter what the state of a person or who he is. As long as he has money to play in a casino and could bring continuous profit for the owner, then it is also good no matter what. But in general, we know that we all have different perspectives or opinions on this, so no matter what answer we give, anyone could gamble, as each person has their own will and own rights.

If someone who is mentally unstable still comes to gambling to deposit money with the bookie why not, isn't that also a benefit for the casino to increase their income, it doesn't matter about mentally unstable people or people who are seriously addicted as long as they still have money and bringing money to the casino, all of which I think upholds freedom and there are no restrictions on that as long as they play quietly and don't disturb other players.

I just caught the behavior of a person like that, it seems that the man is addicted to gambling so that even though he is mentally unstable, he still makes money and spends his money on gambling, that's why I'm not sure the officers at physical casinos forbid that anyone seems to be free to gamble and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that our view of the man might be too pitiful whereas they casino owners don't care about that. 

I have read the TOS of many gambling companies and I did not see this as part of it. I know about the age limitations as well as the warning for responsible gambling... these are the general rules and none of them actually cover the mental health of the gambler.

Besides, it will be difficult to deny someone who walks into a casino, violated no rule and is willing to play and get paid if need be. Anyone under this state of health should not be limited access to the casino and it will be totally unfair to judge base on dressing.

He’s also a customer just like you, he derives the same fun and joy as you when he’s gambling, he’ll be paid the same way you will if he should win his bet, he also has the money to bet and also it will be difficult for a business to chase off their customers just because others are more dressed than him.

I actually do not see any reason why he should be stopped, if he turns out to be one that is violent after kissing a bet then the idea of stopping him could be very good but in a case where he doesn’t have any effect when he losses I don’t think he should be stopped.

Tbvh, we have people that are might be more unstable than that filthy dressed man that are also actively gambling if casino’s should start filtering them that means they would also be banned from gambling.

It is not only about the gambling agent but also about the other people that are gambling there. There is no problem if other people are not complaining about him. Not to be well dressed in public can make some people to know that he is mentally unstable and not like to go to the gambling place because of that but they will complain before not going. I think it is a betting agent place and it will not take more than 2 minutes that the mentally unstable person will spend to place bets and that gives him advantage.

He has no job. People are using his condition to give him money.

In my country, the only legal restrictions placed on gambling is with regards to age otherwise almost every one is given the liberty to gamble provided they meet the agre requirements, even on most gambling sites and gambling houses, their restrictions are usually based on age and almost never with appearance.

Sometimes some persons in their appearance may look like they are mentality challenged until you have a conversation with them then you will understand better what their situation or condition is, so I think we shouldn't assume someone is mentally challenged except proven otherwise, physical appearance cannot be a complete judgment for their personalities will turn out to be, some times it could be they have some challenges with their appearance but in a case where it's clear that such person is mentally challenged then I don't think such person should be allowed to gamble because they will most often not be in the right frame of mind to make good decisions.

Asking the question if mentality unstable people should be allowed to gamble has different dimensions, do you mean if the government should make a law that prevents mentality unstable people from gambling or you mean that the gambling attendant should stop the mentality unstable man from gambling? In both cases it will not actually be easy especially if the mentality sick man really wants to gamble. I will try to explain the two scenarios below and see how we will examine the scenarios and make proper decisions on the topic posted.

Let's say the government enacts a law that prevents mentality sick people from gambling and yet the mentality sick person want to gamble. If they insist and gamble will the gambling attendant be arrested or the mentality sick person. If the casino attendant refuses to grant him access to gamble, he might decide to cause alot of trouble in the shop and its neighbourhood. And if the government arrest such a mentality sick person, how will they arraign him?

Who can decide which man(or woman) is mentally unstable and which one is mentally stable? I guess that if a man(or woman) has a socially unacceptable behavior, he(or she) can be considered mentally ill.
The casino employees aren't licensed psychic doctors, so they can't decide who is mentally sick and who is OK. I'm sure that if a guy starts acting weird, they will kick him out of the casino.
The man is your story acted completely normal(even though he probably looked like a homeless person). He might be mentally OK. Who are you to judge people based on their clothes and physical appearance. Many people don't care about their looks, but they are completely normal.

If the person is mentally unstable, it would be better for officers or employees to refuse the person to enter and gamble at the casino. But seeing what had happened, it seemed that the person had no intention other than just gambling like other people, so the officers just let him do it. But if the person started acting out of bounds, the officers would take the person into custody and tell him to leave and never enter the casino again.

It may be a moral obligation to prohibit someone who wants to gamble but has a mental disorder. The officer in one place doesn't want any commotion at his place of work so he will supervise someone who is mentally disturbed so that they don't make a commotion.

Not everyone who is well-dressed is mentally stable. Some addicts are mentally unstable, without noticing it, despite being well-kept and feeling in control of their actions. The man in your story is not causing any trouble to anybody in the gambling house, he is only not well dressed. Which is not anybody's business, provided that the gambling attendant is comfortable with him, no problem. Secondly, he's not begging for money or aggressively disturbing his parents for gambling funds, like many other gambling addicts who suffer mental disorders do to their loved ones. He's doing his job and maybe may have been conditioned the way he looks due to the kind of work he does. Men are men, and their personalities should be respected, so far he respects himself and the people around him. Don't know how people around your vicinity judge people who are mentally ill, only through their looks? dressing, hairstyle, shoes, etc.

The world gets funny each day, does it mean that if a well-dressed person putting on a Rolex and nice shoes walks into the gambling house and starts to destroy things or yell at the gambling attendant, he'll be tagged drunk or normal because he's putting on some expensive perfumes. However, I understand your point, gambling can affect them more and they'll find it difficult to heal. But with the behavior of the man, as you illustrated, he shouldn't be barred from using the gambling house. He is like any other gambler, who gambles with their hard-earned money. If he wins a jackpot the casino betting platform will pay him big, not minding whether he's well dressed or not. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday on a similar matter, how society neglects such people, which may lead them to gambling as a form of fun. Society cares about well-dressed people alone, whether mentally ill or not.  

I have not seen this in a any terms of service of a casino or other gambling site like bookies. If it is not there, that means it is allowed. But some people will not feel comfortable and will not allow him to gamble. There are situations that people around a mentally unstable person will interact with him and no problem, but there are situations that you can not interact with with such a person.

You could see he is not mad but probably mentally challenged which can come and go like temporary. There are people who are like that mentally that you only notice them when that moment come to them.

There is a different analysis to this story. He might be gambling before that challenge came to him which can explain why he still retain the ability to gamble and visit the gambling shop. Or he is not mentally challenged in the real sense because someone in such condition may not have the cognition to know how to gamble.


If from what the story is that he walks into a gambling shop and does what others do in peace and leaves, I don't think there is a reason to deny him freedom of association or any other if he is of gambling age. In fact he may not be that challenged mentally not to know what he is doing.