In Japan, policies surrounding gambling addiction take the point of view that it is the individual’s responsibility to gamble moderately. Similarly, it is the individual’s fault if they develop a gambling addiction. The goal of this study was to examine the experience of family members of someone who gambles problematically, while considering the impact of these types of policies. Six family members, of whom five were parents and one was a spouse to someone with a gambling problem, were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and three themes that captured the contents were identified. The three themes were (1) secrecy and social isolation; (2) expectations of providing for family members to avoid social exclusion; and (3) self-blame and sense of failure as parents.
