Why do People Like to Gamble?

This is the second major component to our urge to gamble: to escape from daily life and reality in which things often can become bleak. No working class man could ever gain such fortune, not even in a hard working lifetime as picking the right combination in the state lottery.

The reward for a good gamble offers money and excitement in the process.

Depending on the stake, if a player is on a winning streak one could gain the equivalent of several days pay checks in only a couple of minutes or hours.

And, in contrary to ordinary jobs one doesn’t have to wait a month to get paid: all casino games offer immediate payout.

But, there is a dark side to the pleasure gambling offers: adrenaline narrows the mindset to focus on the present situation. While gambling, you probably won’t be thinking about ordinary life: the only thing which matters is drawing the right card, picking the right numbers, determining the stake, hoping for the best.

While gambling, you are in the core of a biochemical rush. In the process of lengthy sessions most players will loose the connection between the plastic chips and the money they represent.

If you gamble, you are relatively confident you have a chance to win: you’ll determine the strategy, the stake, the risk, all the while hoping you can pull it off. If there is success, serotonin will be released: you went thru an exciting situation and now your brain counteracts with chemicals which make you feel good.

You feel a sense of accomplishment: after all it was you who determined the strategy, placed the bets and your guess turned out right. You felt a buzz of adrenaline (excitement) along the way. By the way, increasing the production of serotonin in the brain which is vital for the well being of humans is also the goal of most anti-depressive pills.

When playing long sessions, the constant interaction between adrenaline and serotonin can make a player feel numb. One will become less aware of the risk, and the human mind goes into a cocoon: the only thing that matters is the outcome. The financial risk for the player increases: one is less inclined to think about the consequences if the gamble turns out wrong.

You might spend more time and money gambling than you planned to. A similar thing happens to the workaholic in daily life: at first he’ll feel good because working restricts him of thinking about things he might be missing in his spare time, but after a while a feeling of numbness ‘burnout’ sets in.

Suddenly what seemed most important in his life ‘working’ is stripped of meaning. It is no different for the addicted or compulsive gambler. After all, let’s face it: watching a ball spin around, pushing a jackpot button, or seeing cards flipped then reshuffled for hours on end can hardly be called a creative way to spend one’s time: the very act is hypnotising because it is repetitive and finally a feeling of numbness and loss of reality will set in.

Especially, if your daily life does not give you satisfaction, finding pleasure in gambling can present a major financial hazard. All commercial gambling games offer the organizer a better mathematical chance to win in the long run. A player, who experienced a good run, may forget that the odds were against him for achieving such a positive result, and when one starts loosing there will be temptation to raise the stakes, chasing losses.

Losses are mathematically inevitable; unless you would play a game in which betting all possible outcomes would give better odds to the player in the long run.

The chemical rush in itself is addictive: when you find pleasure in escaping reality while gambling, you will be more likely to play long sessions and return frequently. The losses which might occur, making you feel bad (no serotonin release) might increase the craving for the excitement and sense of well being you felt before after a successful session. You might take larger risk, playing with higher stakes (more adrenalin) to gain back your losses or win even more (more serotonin). When the vicious circle isn’t stopped in time you might find yourself in serious debt.