How Gambling Addiction Leads to Divorce

One of the least discussed addictions that can lead to divorce is gambling addiction. While many people may try to stay in the marriage and help their spouse overcome their gambling issues, some addicts are reluctant to get the help that they need or are ultimately unable to break their gambling habits.

When this happens, the non-addictive spouse may feel like they have no choice but to file for divorce, which can come with several additional challenges and complexities on top of those already expected when ending a marriage.

What is gambling addiction, and what does it look like?

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), gambling addiction is a psychological disorder that presents a “pattern of repeated and ongoing betting and wagering that continues despite creating multiple problems in several areas of an individual’s life.” Therefore, for someone to have a gambling addiction or disorder, there must be a pattern of excessive gambling and an inability to control gambling habits instead of someone who simply gambles one or two weekends out of the year for fun.

Gambling addiction may look different for each person. However, many gambling addicts share some of the same signs and symptoms, which include:

• Constantly planning activities surrounding gambling
• Constantly trying to find ways to get more money to gamble
• Wanting to gamble with higher amounts of money to feel a sense of excitement or thrill
• Inability to control or stop gambling
• Feeling angry, irritable, or anxious when unable to gamble
• Continuously chasing losses from gambling
• Lying to or stealing from family members and friends
• Losing jobs, relationships, or failing classes due to gambling issues
• Frequently borrowing money to gamble
• Experiencing severe financial instability due to gambling

While gambling addiction is not mentioned as much as drug or alcohol addiction, it can be just as bad. It is commonly referred to as “a silent killer” because individuals usually suffer in silence, and people do not realize how bad the addiction is until it is out of control.

Do compulsive gamblers have a high divorce rate?

A study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) states that “individuals with disordered gambling are more likely to be single and to be divorced.” Kindbridge Behavioral Health further explains that the divorce rate for compulsive gamblers is 31 percent, which is about 10 percent higher than the divorce rate for those who rarely or never gamble. The divorce rate is significantly higher for compulsive gamblers, possibly because marriages with gambling addicts may involve aggression, violence, stealing, theft, fraud, lying, financial instability, emotional distress, and more.

How does gambling impact marital finances in San Antonio?

Gambling can impact marital finances in a variety of ways, such as:

• Spending savings or emergency funds
• Depleting bank accounts and retirement accounts
• Stealing, getting rid of, or losing important assets and belongings
• Spending extra time at work to pay for gambling
• Being fired or missing days at work to gamble
• Borrowing or stealing money from spouse, family members, or friends

When a gambling problem becomes severe, it can cause serious conflict, disagreements, communication issues, betrayal, resentment, neglect, trust issues, and shame, which can put a huge strain on a marriage and make it almost impossible to recover from.

Should I be worried about my spouse’s debts due to gambling?

Many clients who are divorcing a spouse with a gambling addiction often wonder whether they should be worried about their spouse’s debt due to gambling. Debt is something you should expect to come up in the divorce proceedings. In Texas, courts divide the debts equally, but there might be some exceptions. You and your attorney can discuss whether there is convincing evidence showing that your spouse stole, spent, depleted, and mishandled your money, assets, and other personal belongings. If they engaged in financial misconduct, the court may agree to assign the bulk of those debts to your spouse.

How is property divided and distributed when a spouse has a gambling addiction?

Texas is a community property state, which usually means that the court will divide and distribute all marital property and debt equally. The alternative to the community property is equitable distribution, which dictates that the court divide property equitably, not equally. However, in Texas, the actual approach is a bit closer to equitable distribution, as courts are meant to consider fairness when dividing communal property. Therefore, any checking or savings accounts, retirement accounts, personal belongings, and other assets acquired during the marriage will go through the property division process, in which the court will assess their values and determine how to properly divide and distribute them.

If your spouse stole or wasted a large portion of the money in your accounts or the assets that you owned together, this could be a determining factor in how the judge divides and distributes the remaining marital property. For example, if your spouse pawned all of your expensive artwork, depleted most of your emergency savings, and sold one of your vehicles due to their compulsive gambling habits, the judge may take this into account when determining who should get certain assets or money left in the accounts. If you can prove that you are the responsible spouse who did not drain your accounts or spend unnecessary money on gambling, you may be given a larger share of the remaining assets and accounts.

What steps can I take to protect myself from future financial liability during divorce proceedings?

Taking certain steps to protect yourself from future financial liability during the divorce proceedings is critical. You can do this by following these steps, but only with the help of your attorney:

1. Gather documents, bank statements, and receipts to show when your spouse spent or withdrew money to gamble and how much they spent on these gambling activities.
2. Ask your attorney whether you can take your name off any credit cards and bank accounts shared with your spouse. Doing so without first addressing this with an attorney can lead to consequences.
3. Request a credit report to determine whether your spouse has damaged your credit in any way due to gambling. Ask your attorney whether you can freeze your credit to prevent your spouse from being able to use it in the future to take out loans or credit cards.
4. Ask your lawyer whether you can obtain a temporary restraining order (TRO) during divorce proceedings. If the court issues this, you may be able to prevent your spouse from taking more financially destructive actions that would impact you.
5. Open your own checking and savings account. However, before you move any money over from your joint accounts, reach out to a San Antonio divorce lawyer. They will be able to advise you on how to proceed, as you do not want to look like you are hiding money or assets before the divorce.

At Grable Grimshaw, PLLC, our San Antonio divorce attorneys know how to help our clients through a challenging divorce involving gambling addiction. These types of divorces usually involve a lot of anger, frustration, confusion, and stress. Therefore, when you work with our team, you can rest assured knowing that we will do everything possible to legally support you, reduce conflict, protect your rights, and secure the best outcome based on your unique situation and circumstances. Please call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a consultation in San Antonio today.