I believe it simply is a personal choice. Playing has a temporary power to reduce anxiety in some, but long term this normally is a compounding factor to anxiety due to the stress of losing, chasing losses. Anxiety may cause a person to be more apprehensive, however, it may also increase their susceptibility to addictive behavior in the event that they then use gambling to get themselves away from their fears. Personally I do not think gambling is ever a real treat to anxiety since it hides it a little time, and causes more problems in the future.