• You spend an excessive amount of time playing.
• When not playing, you find yourself preoccupied with thoughts about the game, how to play the next time, and how to earn more money the next time.
• Each time you play, you end up spending a higher amount money than before to experience the desired excitement.
• You have made multiple unsuccessful attempts to reduce or stop playing.
• When you reduce or stop playing, you feel restless or irritable.
• You play to escape from your problems, or for getting relief from sadness, anxiety or other negative emotions.
• After losing money in the game, you often return soon to recover the loss.
• You have lied to your family and/or friends in order to hide the extent of your habit of playing.
• You have committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud or theft to finance your habit.
• You have ruined or lost an important relationship, job, or educational opportunity because of playing.
• You depend on others to provide you with money to deal with the financial constraints caused by playing.

Excessive gaming can cause major long term problems in one’s life.

Mr. Ram spent 10-13 hours a day playing, and had difficulty in managing his day-to-day responsibilities. On one hand, he felt isolated and ignored by his family. On the other hand, his family just did not understand his situation and could not provide him the right support. His professional life was severely affected, almost costing him his job.

The case of Mr. Ram is one of the more severe cases. However, issues caused by excessive gaming can vary from minimal disturbances to one’s daily routine, to feeling completely dependent on the game, like Mr. Ram.