We now know that gambling can be as addictive as drugs， but there are factors that can make it even harder to quit.

我们现在都知道赌博可能和毒品一样容易上瘾，但有些因素会让戒赌比戒毒更加困难。

The International Classification of Diseases （ICD） is the text produced by the World Health Organization that summarises all the medical issues they recognise.

《国际疾病分类》（ICD）由世界卫生组织编制，汇总了已经确认的所有医学问题。

When the latest version， the ICD-11， was produced， the section concerning addictive disorders included a category for addictive behaviours. It’s now medically recognised that people can become addicted to specific actions and not just substances. Chief among these behaviours is gambling.

最新版本ICD-11发布时，有关成瘾障碍的章节纳入了成瘾行为这一分类。如今，医学界已经认识到，人们不但会对某些物质，还会对特定行为上瘾。这些行为中最主要的是赌博。

Gambling addiction is undoubtedly a real thing and a big problem. Hence， the UK government is bringing in measures to hopefully curb， or at least reduce， the harm it does.

毫无疑问，赌博成瘾确有其事，而且问题不小。因此，英国政府采取措施，希望能够遏制或者至少减少赌博造成的危害。

But how do people end up addicted to gambling？ And why is it often so difficult to treat compared to more ‘typical’ substance-based addictions？

可是，人们是如何沉迷于赌博的？与更“典型”的物质成瘾相比，为什么赌博成瘾往往如此难以治疗？

The ‘how’ is relatively straightforward. The primary appeal of gambling is essentially obtaining large amounts of money for next-to-no effort. When it comes to making decisions， the human brain is constantly weighing up effort against potential reward. If something ends up being heavily skewed towards the latter （for example， paying a small amount of money to receive a large amount in return）， we tend to really approve of it.

相对来说，“为何沉迷赌博”的答案并不复杂。从根本上讲，赌博的主要吸引力在于几乎不费吹灰之力就能获得大把金钱。人类大脑在做决定时会持续权衡付出的努力与潜在的回报。如果某件事情的最终结果大大偏向后者（例如，花少量金钱获得可观回报），我们往往会非常认可这件事。

There’s also the fact that the human brain is complex enough to recognise money as significant， in the biological sense， even though it’s technically an abstract concept. Our brains also prioritise novelty and unpredictability.

还有一个事实是，人类大脑错综复杂，足以从生物学意义上认识到金钱的重要性，尽管严格讲金钱其实是一个抽象的概念。再者，大脑会优先考虑新颖独特与不可预测的事物。

All this together means that gambling can， and does， have the same effect on the brain’s reward system as certain drugs and substances. An addiction develops， with all the subsequent consequences for the individual.

总而言之，赌博可以——而且确实会——对大脑的奖励系统产生与某些药物和毒品相同的影响。成瘾会不断加剧，带给个体一切后续影响。

This doesn’t happen for everyone who gambles， of course. A lot of people don’t gamble at all. Many people are instinctively averse to risk or loss， which are unavoidable aspects of gambling. But other people aren’t sensitive in this way and are far more willing to embrace gambling as a pastime.

当然，并不是每个赌博的人都会上瘾。很多人根本不赌博。很多人出于本能对风险或损失感到厌恶，而风险或损失在赌博中不可避免。……