Topic: Loss Aversion: A Critical Factor for Responsible Gambling. - page 7. (Read 1412 times)

the concept of taking for granted what you've already won explains this better because that's the only justification to the concept of loss aversion as explained by the OP.
I've seen instances where someone gambled and lost very big on Tuesday and was angered with bunch of statements that suggest he's never gambling again for a long time, it didn't take him up to 12 hours before placing another bet that resulted in a loss and then another one again.

The truth is that while individuals response to loss varies, the majority of people react more to looses that to the instances they win. A win makes it look like winning is a routine that you're used to while looses comes with a burning desire to iether gamble more as a way of recovering the loss.

The story of a man who advertised his son on Facebook and later sold him intending to pay his debt. He ended up using all the more for gambling and lost all. It was indeed a pathetic story caused by gambling addiction. And this behaviour can be developed because of the fear of experiencing the pain of failure. Because we hate the feeling of loss we end up taking more risks.

I agree with you OP, a lot of people will never want to let go of their losses because they feel cheated, but they want to win your own money and be happy. When a gambler cannot accept his losses for real and move on with his life, he will not give up on chasing his losses till infinity, until he realized that he can not win back all that he has lost, is when he will give up. When I was 14, I played a try your luck game, and I lost the first, second and third game. Because of my fear of letting go of the money I lost, I decided to keep on playing feeling I can win back my losses, but unfortunately, I lost all the money on me. That was my first gambling lesson to always accept defeat when gambling.

You know what is even more interesting to me? It is the fact that loss aversion also happens when you are winning, you tends to book your winnings prematurely (fear of losing).That is exactly why casinos offer cash out feature in sport betting and even many poker platforms also exploit this cognitive bias by allowing you to cash out on turn or river and charging more rake for run it twice/thrice.

There is a different factor why we chase losses; this is due to the adrenaline and dopamine effects on our momentum. loss aversion, is real and conclusive because we have seen many individuals come out with their decisions based on the theory of loss aversion, and there's evidence that this theory of loss aversion also plays a factor in gamblers's decisions, but we cannot apply this to all gamblers because every gambler is different from one another and circumstances play a major part.
At one point in my playing, I experienced loss aversion. I'm afraid to lose my money more than what I could gain, and there's also a point that I am concentrated on my rewards more than I could possibly lose.

Thanks but it has nothing to do with me. The information is already out there, even the contextualization of this bias.


Losing money is painful to almost everyone whether it happens within or outside your pre ascribed bank roll. The question that why people gamble has various answers in psychology (dopamine, adrenaline etc.). Here we are discussing one of the major factors which can lead a fun and entertaining [even money making {poker, sports etc.}]  activity towards an addiction.
Regarding your question about methodology, you will find it quite helpful; https://insidebe.com/articles/loss-aversion/

We have plenty of cases where people gamble away their rent money or their paycheck for entire month. A brutal one was Father sold his 11 month old baby to fund his gambling addiction.
The premise was that we hate the feeling of loss that is why we tend to chase losses in order to get rid of the feeling. To avoid this inner confrontation we take bigger risk which sometime even threaten the survival. These are impulse based decisions with little thoughts about planned and safe long term future. .

The man has 300 dollars. He lost $100. According to these scientific studies, should he bet on the last 200 dollars, despite the risk of starving to death? How did it happen that the premise (survival is more important than satiety) led to a consequence (to win at all costs) that contradicts the premise? By the way, the Nobel Prize is increasingly biased by politics and economic interests, rather than pure science. In other words, the Nobel Prize is not an indisputable proof. However, I will not argue, because I do not impose my opinion.

In general, there's a lot more to chase when you lose stuff compared to when you win stuff anyway. The difference between gaining and losing is massive in terms of attachment after all, since there's something you get to have and something you don't. I guess you can liken it for the idea of taking for granted what you receive (as well as the pain you get after losing those "taken for granted" stuff). Especially in cases where its in the heat of the moment, where gambling falls into.

Not that it can't be prevented though imo. Being aware of it at that moment is pretty much the only thing you'd really need afaik.

When you already know about that, you must prevent yourself not to getting in the trap by always controlling yourself in gambling. But once again, human will gets the lure to gambling because of the bonus that the casino gives.
Gamblers can lose more and more if they can not take care themselves and willing to chase the wins or recover their lose. Once they forget to control themselves, that time will be the time for them to gets more losses.

That is why you need to know how to avoids the temptation that the casino gives so you will not spends more money that you can not afford to lose. You will only playing gambling with enough money that you willing to lose if you don't have luck.

I don't understand this. If losing money is painful for you, why do you continue? Sounds irrational to me.

Start playing in a casino only if you are okay with losing what you have allocated for the game. You shouldn't even start otherwise. Also, I disagree with the notion associated with loss aversion that "the pain of losing $100 is often far greater than the joy gained in finding the same amount". How can you compare pain and joy? They're entirely different experiences.

Oh, this is very brilliant of you and another reason why we should know why we gamble and how we can continue it with preserved responsibly gambling. But unfortunately, it can't be possible with most gamblers or should I say it can't be easy with many because they normally gamble for the money. And if the money is the driving force, there is nothing you can say that will "enter their ears." This is why some people will have a very good-paying job and still be seeking riches from gambling, an activity that by history has not made the large majority of people engaging in it rich. We should indeed be wise.

Thank you for that.

It's all true and it actually happened to me. Right now, I have a big loss in one local online gambling application and I can say I am trying to move on from that loss although we cannot take the fact that the memory will still be there at the back of our heads.
I think that's the only way to avoid this. Forget all those losses and be a brand new gambler, a better one. We already know to ourselves that it is how gambling is made, for us to lose, so what else are we gaining from playing over and over again? Not much. Entertainment mostly. Emotional fluctuations. I don't even think that's a gain. It's not a good thing when you are all stressed with the losses and all you feel is rage, I'd rather avoid that.
Sports betting is also a good cure. Stick with your team, bet an amount that will just ignite your passion as a fan, and cheer louder. You won't be wasting too much money and you might win if your team will perform well per season.

Nobody wants to lose money, we all want to win. We feel more pain when we lose than the joy we get when we win even when it is the same amount. This has made us regret losses more than celebrate wins. This concept in gambling shows that because we dread the pain of losses we take more risks such as loss chasing to avoid or overcome it. Sometimes because you know that it will take you days to forget about a loss you decide to gamble more to avoid that experience.

It's good you posted it so that we can be able to know it and work on ourselves. We should be able to accept our losses in good faith and never be tempted to overcome them by gambling more. We should also celebrate our wins no matter how small.

Scientific concepts require research studies in order to be validated (though it is a social science, in principle). Loss Aversion is an established concept in various fields. You are right that individuals might behave differently, but knowledge will only be considered worth pursuing when it addresses universals. You might be interested in one of my old thread; Beyond the Cliché: Rethinking Human Uniqueness .

That was not my argument. I was explaining the psychological genesis behind this particular cognitive bias, how fear of shortage of food is much greater then joy of getting extra food because it is directly linked with survival.

Nobel Prize selection committee seems to disagree with you  as the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Daniel Kahneman in 2002 for his work on prospect theory, which popularized the concept of loss aversion: 

I don't agree with that. In my opinion, the behavior when losing depends entirely on the personality. Some people want to turn things around in their own way, they will increase the stakes. Others, on the contrary, will completely stop playing (at least for a while), and certainly will not double down. There is such a division of people according to their constitution and character. Mesomorph, endomorph and ectomorph. The first ones will play "until they turn blue" until absolutely everyone loses. II also did not understand how overeating follows from a lack of food. If a person must avoid a lack of food, then why should he risk the "last meal" in the hope of "gorging himself"? There is no logic in this.

Yeah, humans are always trying to close the gap ASAP no matter  which field this gap is relevant to. Gamblers are always focused on their losses and being in such state do not exercise control over their emotions. I feel more than often the wild desire to retrieve immediately my  defeat in betting  which is  fighting inside my body with demand to chill a bit and stay cooled. ^{Sometimes I find a knack for changing the way of my gambling  to keep the allocated bankroll intact.}

Loss aversion is a cognitive bias in humans that shows that we tend to avoid losses more than we desire profits (twice as much). We avoid the confrontation of feeling that comes with loss, therefore taking more risk to chase losses.

Casinos use this to trap you in a vicious circle of addiction. They will give you loss-back/rake-back in the quantity, which might not have enough appeal for you to withdraw, especially after a big loss (which enabled that loss back). They will do this either by giving you your loss back or rake back in small installments (daily, weekly, or monthly) instead of giving you a lump sum amount one time. It is not that they cannot give you more, but they will deliberately do this because they want you to play with that amount and take bigger risks. After you lose that rake-back/loss-back, you will have an urge (twice as strong) to deposit and win back the lost amount (this is especially true if you are new to gambling), taking a higher risk to avoid the intra-confrontation with the fact that you have just lost x amount. The majority will lose again and again; some will even develop a defense mechanism to not even think about their big losses and continue focusing on depositing more money to cover losses.

This cognitive bias has some deep-rooted genesis in human psychology because of how we evolved. A shortage of food is more lethal than the happiness that comes with excessive food.

I am posting this because understanding this concept helps me become more responsible with my decision-making, and it might be helpful to you as well. I am eager to know opinions of other wise members.