Family members have a profound effect on each other’s development, functioning, and well-being. However, older adults may be at an increased risk of developing gambling disorder due to a number of unique factors, such as loneliness, fixed incomes, not being part of the workforce, and cognitive decline ( McNeilly, 2007 Southwell et al., 2008) gambling disorder, in turn, can result in immense harm to the health of the older adult ( McNeilly & Burke, 2002).Ī family is defined as a social group of individuals “tied together through their common biological, legal, cultural and emotional history and their implied future together” ( McGoldrick, Gerson, & Shellenberger, 1999). Personal factors included the desire to win money, relax, seek excitement, socialize, meet new people, escape boredom and feelings of grief and loss ( Clarke, 2008 Clarke & Clarkson, 2008 Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling Inc., 2004 Hong, Sacco, & Cunningham-Williams, 2009 McNeilly & Burke, 2000 Moore, 2001 Southwell, Boreham, & Laffan, 2008 Wiebe, Single, Falkowski-Ham, & Mun, 2004) whereas environmental factors include easy access to and the availability of gambling venues ( Pearce, Mason, Hiscock, & Day, 2008 Thomas et al., 2010). Research has increasingly shown that gambling and gambling disorder is common among older adults ( Subramaniam, Wang, et al., 2015 Tse, Hong, Wang, & Cunningham-Williams, 2012) reasons postulated include both person level and environmental factors ( Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2012). Gambling disorder, on the other hand, is recognized as a mental disorder characterized by a pattern of continued gambling, despite significant negative physical, psychological, and social consequences not just for the individual but for the family and community at large ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The majority of individuals gamble for a limited time and incur acceptable losses and generally do not have any long-term problems related to gambling – a phenomenon often referred to as social or recreational gambling ( National Research Council, 1999). Gambling behavior also varies widely and ranges across a spectrum from recreational or social gambling to gambling disorder. Gambling is a widely accepted recreational activity across many countries in the world today and it ranges from games like playing cards organized in informal settings to casino and online gambling ( Productivity Commission, 2010).

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