Ludopatia, originates from the Latin ludus which means "I play" or "play" and the Greek word duck which means affection, disease or passion. It presents itself as an irrepressible urge to play regardless of the consequences of it and the desire to stop. It is considered an impulse control disorder, and therefore the American Psychological Association does not consider it an addiction.
Given the pathological connotation of the term, it can be interpreted in clinical practice as addiction to gambling and is consistent with the statement of "Pathological addiction to electronic games or games of chance".
Pathological gambling was officially mentioned as 6th grade B by the American College of Mental Health in 1980 when the American Psychiatric Society (APA) included it for the first time as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, in its third edition (DSM-III).
The compulsive gambling or pathological gambling maladaptive behavior manifests playful, persistent and recurrent, which disrupts the continuity of personal, family or professional individual who suffers in the absence of a manic episode. On the other hand, the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codifies pathological gambling in the category of Habit and Impulse Disorders, along with kleptomania, pyromania and trichotillomania.
The pathological gambling is diagnosed from various symptoms such as frequent thoughts about the game, irritability when trying to quit or reduce it and use the game as an escape mechanism.
