Why Some People Become Addicted to Gambling
Whether it’s playing poker or putting your money in the slot machine, gambling involves a certain amount of risk. While some gamblers can walk away with a win, others can’t, and they are often in danger of becoming addicted to gambling. As a result, gambling can cause serious harm to individuals, their family and society. In fact, it’s now recognised that pathological gambling is an addiction akin to substance addiction.
In order to understand why some people become addicted to gambling, we need to look at the brain’s learning mechanisms. When we gamble, the brain is triggered to release dopamine, a feel-good chemical that gives us pleasure and reward. However, in some people this reward system becomes over-excited and overactive, which leads to problems. This is because the brain can no longer control its impulsive responses.
Gambling also makes us disproportionately sensitive to our losses compared to our gains. This is because people tend to remember the negative experiences more vividly than positive ones, so when you lose, it’s much harder to forget that – for example, losing a PS10 note will trigger a stronger reaction than finding a PS10. The combination of psychological factors, genetic predispositions and a desire to win money make it very easy to fall down the slippery slope into gambling addiction.
Another factor is that gambling isn’t just about the money – it’s also about escaping from the pressures of everyday life. Many people who start gambling as a form of entertainment find themselves spending more and more time at the casino, betting shops or online, and this can create serious financial problems. Furthermore, they can hide their activity from friends and family members to try to protect them from the truth.
In some cases, the addiction to gambling is so severe that it begins to interfere with a person’s normal work and family life. Consequently, they can end up in debt and even lose their homes. For these reasons, gambling is viewed as a health problem, and the DSM-V identifies it as an addictive disorder alongside drug dependence.
When you place a bet, you choose what you want to wager on – for example, a football team or a scratchcard. Your choice is then matched to the odds, which are the likelihood that you will win. People often overestimate the odds, because they can easily recall examples of when they won, or because they are over-confident about their own ability to predict outcomes based on past experience.
While the economic impact of gambling is generally well understood, personal and interpersonal and community/society level external impacts are less frequently considered. This is because they are difficult to quantify in monetary terms, but the consequences of gambling can have long-term effects and affect those outside the gambler’s immediate family, including health and social relationships. For instance, a gambler’s increased debt can have a negative effect on their loved ones’ lives, and the effects of gambling escalating into bankruptcy and homelessness can have wider impacts on the whole community.
