Why Do People Like Casinos
Most gamblers lose. So why do people bet their hard-earned money? Find out a bit about the psychology of gambling, why people bet money and the reasons for gambling.
Psychology of Gambling: Reasons for Gambling
This post will not answer these questions. It is only a reflection, hopefully not too philosophical, on a very simple matter. We are talking about online casinos, an ever-expanding sector that attracts more and more users every year. In such a crowded scenario, it is normal to imagine that competition is very high. That’s right, there are a lot of new operators trying to make the leap in a. Casinos are famed for their bright lights and the slot noises of pennies dropping (even though coins stopped being used a long time ago) because these elements all play on the senses.
Ok, so we all understand that gambling offers you the chance of winning money or prizes, but have you considered some of the other reasons for gambling? A look into the psychology of gambling offers insight into that question.
Why Do People Gamble? - Risk Taking
One of the reasons for gambling is that it's human nature to feel excited when taking risks and the positive feeling gained from gambling is no different. 'Will my numbers come up?' 'Will my team win?' The sense of anticipation creates a natural high, an adrenalin rush, a feeling that very many of us seek when looking for fun and entertainment. A feeling that some people believe they cannot live without.
Why Do People Gamble? - Escapism
The gambling environment can provide an escape from everyday life. Whether it be the glitzy casino environment, a loud and exciting amusement arcade or even an online betting company, for the time that we are taking part we can be surrounded by different people, different sounds and emotions, all of which stimulate and arouse our senses.
Why Do People Gamble? - Glamorous
The media and advertising agencies understand the psychology of gambling and often portray a stylish, sexy, fashionable image of gambling. In film and TV, we see characters enjoying a night at the casino or an afternoon at the races. There is often a suggestion of 'high society' and attending at 'a place to be seen'.
Why Do People Gamble? - Social
Gambling is accepted as part of this country's culture and as such is widely participated in (with varying frequency) by the majority of the population. Some young people are introduced to gambling by learning to play card games with their parents at home, maybe we go the bingo with friends on a Friday night or meet after school at the amusement arcade.
Psychology of Gambling: The Common Misperception
The above reasons for gambling all tie into this: most people think about gambling as a low-risk, high-yield proposition. In reality, it's the opposite: a high-risk, low-yield situation. The odds always favor the house. Despite that, the thought and excitement of hitting a casino jackpot are often too alluring - regardless of its probability.
Learn more about Types of Gamblers and Signs of Gambling Addiction.
Sources:
- Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery
next: What Type of Gambling is the Most Addictive and Why?
~ all gambling addiction articles
~ all articles on addictions
APA Reference
Gluck, S. (2008, December 29). Psychology of Gambling: Why Do People Gamble?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2021, March 10 from https://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/gambling-addiction/psychology-of-gambling-reasons-for-gambling
Why do people gamble?
I have a poker player friend who says that everything in life is a gamble. He points out the importance of random chance involved with everything from making a living to choosing a wife.
He always adds, “No risk, no reward.”
But when most readers ask, why do people gamble? they’re usually people who DON’T gamble and want to know why someone they know DOES gamble.
In this post, I look at 7 reasons people like to place bets.
1- Why Do People Gamble When They Lose Most of the Time?
That’s a legitimate question:
Why would you gamble if you’re consistently losing all the time.
Surveys suggest that people have a wide range of motivations for wanting to gamble. In some cultures and jurisdictions, gambling is widely available and culturally accepted.
But not everyone gambles.
Some people gamble more often than other people, too.
And not everyone in any of those 3 camps is necessarily more likely to become a problem gambler or gambling addict.
The point I’m trying to make is that you have a wide variety of reasons for gambling:
- To escape your troubles
- To be entertained
- To socialize
And those are just some of the factors involved. Different kinds of gambling attract different personality types, and different approaches to some games are taken by different people.
Here’s an example:
Most people know that women prefer games of chance, and most men prefer games of skill.
That’s why you see more women at the slot machines and more men at the poker table.
But men will often play poker and ignore the role of chance, even though chance is the deciding factor in the short run.
And men will play slot machines, but they’ll switch machines if they’re not winning, or they’ll try to find machines that are due for a payout. They create an illusion of control when they’re playing a game that’s purely chance.
2- Some People Gamble Because They Can’t Help Themselves Anymore
This is possibly the most baffling situation, especially for people who are close to a gambling addict. They see all the misery gambling causes their loved one, and they don’t understand why he doesn’t just quit gambling and be happy.
It’s a question similar to asking why an alcoholic can’t just drink a little bit, have a good time, and call it a night.
For people with gambling problems, the ability to stop gambling seems to have disappeared. They have a mental obsession that prevents them from quitting while they’re ahead or before they’ve lost all their money.
Even gamblers who don’t have a compulsion are often trying to hit a big win. They can “feel” that they’re getting close.
But even when they hit their big win, they usually keep gambling.
For problem gamblers, it’s more important to have money on the line – to be in action – than it is to win or walk away a winner.
When it comes to almost every kind of gambling, the gambler is placing negative expectation bets. Casino gamblers deal with the house edge. Poker players deal with the rake. Sports bettors face the vig.
And, of course, there’s always the temptation to try to chase your losses – to try to just win back the money you’ve lost so far.
3- The Thrill of Taking Risks
One reason many gamblers stay in action is because they’re addicted to the risk factor. Their behavior isn’t that different from people who love other thrill-based activities, like sky diving or rollercoasters.
The problem is that sky diving and rollercoasters don’t cost the kind of money in the long run that gambling does.
If you’re bored when playing a game at a certain limit, it’s natural to raise the stakes so that you’re interested.
If I offered a blackjack game where we played for dimes instead of dollars, no one would play for long. There’s no real money at stake here, so that blackjack game would be boring.
But if you only have $100, and you NEED to play at a table with a $25 limit instead of a $5 limit, you might have a problem.
4- Money Won Is Twice as Sweet as Money Earned
I first heard that expression when I was watching The Color of Money, which is an excellent sequel to The Hustler.
Why Do People Like Gambling
And the expression is true.
It’s a subtle, weird psychological difference. If you remove the emotion from it, $100 is $100 — regardless of whether you won it playing poker or whether you earned it working on an oil rig for a couple hours.
Maybe the perceived lack of effort is what makes money won via gambling so much more attractive than money you’ve earned through honest effort.
There’s nothing wrong with this phenomenon until someone starts making bone-headed decisions about what he’s doing with his money in the casino.
But if you’re the type who goes to the casino with $500, loses it all, then withdraws your last $500 via the ATM to try to catch up… well, you might have a problem.
5- Casino Chips Don’t Seem to Have Value
You’d think it would be just as easy for casinos to deal with cash as having to exchange cash for chips and back to cash again.
What do you think that reason might be?
Why People Like Nostalgia
If you guess that it’s a psychological ploy to influence their gamblers to think that the money they’re risking is less valuable, pat yourself on the back.
It’s a lot easier to risk a clay chip than it is to risk an action $100 bill, or a few $20 bills.
6- Some People Gamble Because They’re Good at It
Not everyone who gambles has a gambling problem. Some gamblers are professionals. They’ve found ways to place positive expectation bets instead of negative expectation bets.
For example, card counters in blackjack expect to make money in the long run instead of lose it.
Professional sports bettors only place bets when the math is in their favor. They never place negative expectation bets unless they’re making a mistake.
And they don’t get to be professional sports bettors if they make a lot of mistakes.
Professional poker players are masters of getting their money into the pot when they have the best of it and their opponents have the worst of it.
Can professional gamblers and advantage gamblers develop a gambling problem?
Sure.
Just look at some of the stories about Stu Ungar, a legendary poker player who had all kinds of impulse control problems. He was as good a poker player as ever lived, but he lost fortunes repeatedly at the craps table.
7- And Some People Just Gamble Because It’s Fun
Finally, some gamblers are just having a good time. They treat their gambling expenses just like they would any other entertainment expense. They budget for it, and they refuse to go over their budget.
Why Do People Like Casinos
I don’t think it’s wise to condemn recreational gamblers, even if they show the potential to become problem gamblers.
That’s because you’ll do more harm than good.
Look at what happened during Prohibition. Find an abstinence zealot and ask him to talk some sense into an alcoholic and watch what happens.
The results aren’t pretty.
The same holds true for problem gamblers. If you come at them with the idea that they’re sinning or should be condemned for their behavior, you’ve lost all chance of helping them at some point in the future.
Conclusion
People have a wide variety of motivations for their gambling activities. Some of them can’t help themselves. Some are just having fun. Others have made gambling their profession.
I’m not here to judge, but I do suggest that anyone with a gambling problem should get help sooner rather than later. It’s a tragedy to ruin one’s life by playing too many slot machine games or betting too much money on the ponies.