Gambling may be defined as an activity which has the following four characteristics: 1.There is an agreement between two or more persons; the participation of others is therefore essential, although sometimes, as in pools and fruit machine gambling, this is more remote.2.Certain property is transferred between the persons involved so that some gain at the expense of others; this is usually referred to as the stake.3.The result is dependent on the outcome of a risky or uncertain situation; it therefore involves risk taking.4.Participation can be avoided and is typically pursued in an active fashion; the motivation for this is not uniform often being unrelated to the property staked and arising out of various psychological needs.