Topic: Poverty is the fuel for gambling addiction (Read 418 times)

Poverty can can be fuel to gamblings addiction. Poverty can make someone a glambler in a sense that you are owing someone $1000 and you have only $100 with you, and the person you are owing is disgusting you for his or her money. And someon come to meet you that he's have you bet odd. Looking at his situations he will did adhere to the advice to gain more so that he can pay his debit.
From there the person will start forming the habit of gambling.

Poverty is the fuel for gambling addiction


Complete poverty is the cure for gambling.

In many areas indeed that poverty is the roots of many addictions not just gambling but even liquor,smoking and drugs as well because in their desperation in life , vices makes them felt positive still .

But in others this is just a game to enjoy , because it that is the reality then there should not be Millionaire that still gambling but its not there are so many of them that plays while they are capable of buying everything in this world.

 
We sometimes make different decisions from what we see and assume from happenings around us. Someone who earns as little as$50 a month, and for the first few experiences in gambling he wins over 4 times his actual salary, you don't expect him to stop there. He will be interested in getting more and more until he is fed up. He started dreaming big and forgets to look at the other picture. Gambling is risky but at some point, it might be profitable but it won't last for long. You as a gambler should be able to make plans.  Gambling should not be taken as your source of income.but a side hustle to help you earn a hit extra to your salary.

No nation can prosper without hard work.  There are many people who dream of becoming rich overnight without working hard. The tendency to gamble is more common among the rich and the very poor.  Some play it out of necessity and some play it by nature.

Yes, that's right and all of that happened because of the financial pressure they felt so that they misunderstood what and how gambling really is, many of them tend to assume and think that gambling is a get-rich-quick scheme or a place that can be used as an alternative to overcome the financial problems they are experiencing, and of course this is the wrong mindset and perspective in responding to gambling.
As you said that the beliefs they have will not work as they should, and I think that's clear because no matter what, belief and hope will never be able to change the results of the game unless luck comes and that will only happen once in dozens of trials.

On the other hand, yes, I also admit and understand that poverty is not the only cause of someone's addiction, but it is clear that it is one of the factors that causes someone to have the wrong mindset about gambling. Maybe I will simplify the various things that can trigger addiction into one factor, namely when someone does not understand and know about what and how gambling really is, especially in terms of opportunities and risks.

They can also lose more than their monthly wage by playing for an hour or more.

To be honest, I don’t think poverty is the biggest factor in gambling. When someone is so poor and desperate yes they will turn to gambling however if they are still rational they know they should not waste their money in gambling because it is what it is: a gamble. If a person is has nothing more to lose then they can risk everything still.

Moreover I think a lot just really gamble for the sake of enjoyment

Yes, it's true that poverty is a factor which has stimulated many gamblers into addiction, while hoping to get lucky, win big and get rich quick, but it's sad that such believe don't usually work as it seems. Hence, poverty alone is not the only reason while people get addicted into gambling, as it has also been proven that other factors have also play a role in the making of a gambler becoming addicted, such as greed, lack of self control and e.t.c. Because today, we also have rich people who also struggling from gambling addiction, and that doesn't mean they are poor.

There was also data for the population of addicted gamblers among these countries, which are ranked high on gambling adoption. It could be possible that those developed counties that are not as poor as the underdeveloped counties will have to take a turn in the list, as the countries with the high rate of poverty will have a higher chance of topping the list of countries producing enough gambling addicts, as I also agree with the Op that poverty is also a major factor that leads some gamblers into addiction.

Yes, it seems that I misunderstood what the OP said, but I think what I said above is also one of the triggers for a mindset that can endanger someone when they are in a financial stress situation, because I also see many gamblers who end up addicted, where everything is triggered by the goal of making gambling a place to overcome their financial problems.

And in the case conveyed by the OP about the mindset of people in his country, I think it is a fairly normal occurrence, or what I mean is they see that by spending just one hour they can get money equivalent to their monthly salary, but of course that is still the wrong mindset, because after all in gambling it is not only about winning but the risk of losing will always be a part.

Oh yeah I hope you can read what OP said in the last few parts where people there are thinking about gambling more often because by just spending an hour they can get money equivalent to their monthly salary to meet all the needs that cannot be met by their monthly salary, meaning aren't they also having problems with their financial situation, my friend? I think so. Lastly, OP didn't say that people there are betting the total amount of their income for a month. Regardless, I will conclude that everything we have discussed here leads to something true, even though there is a little misunderstanding.

In this part, you are talking about the "reward system" part of the brain, your brain basically releases chemicals that make you feel good(and other stuff) and this isn't exclusive to someone who is in poverty, all gamblers experience this(or at least that is what I think). while poverty can be a reason for someone to gamble and ultimately fall into addiction because of their circumstances, poverty isn't really "THE" fuel to gambling addiction but it can be a contributing factor for certain people.

Who is giving you people this wrong information? Which money will poor people use to gamble when they find it hard to feed their family? If you see poor person that is gambling, likely he is not yet a family man. The average and the rich people gamble more. If you see the amount some people are using to gamble and the gambling site is showing it, you will see how some people visit gambling site and gambling with high amount of money.

Agreed but poor people are gambling more than the rich people are gambling and from the percentage of people gambling, you can get a close range addicted gamblers too. There has to be more poor people getting addicted to gambling more than the rich but no economical group is an exception from gambling as they can gamble for different reasons. Some gamble for money but others gamble for entertainment. Poverty can be the fuel of Gambling, other reason too can be the reason for gambling. Greed is the biggest reason for gambling because people want to multiply the money they have in the fastest way hence they gamble with hopes of their money getting doubled. Without thinking of a fast way to make more money, Investing the money would had been the best option but some people think investing takes longer to bring results and they're inpatient to wait for their investment

Research has proved poor neighbourhoods have a higher rate of gambling than those with the lowest poverty levels. People who are unemployed or underemployed will seek other means of survival and gambling is one of the easiest options to choose. There might be other reasons why people gamble but I strongly believe that poverty can easily lead to gambling addiction. It might make people see gambling as a source of income.

The minimum wage is a better means of determining how poor a country is than using the salaries of politicians. How rich is country is shouldn't be determined by the standard of living of politicians who are not up to 1% of the population. A country where above 30% of its citizens live below $2.15 per day is poor. Have you checked the minimum wage of rich nations and the value of their currencies? Nigeria might have abundant resources but due to corruption, it is categorized as a poor nation.

I think it's not poverty in general that's being the cause, just the fact that the ratio of time spent to the reward ratio that people get from working vs gambling is a lot better IF they actually win. It's why gambling is also prevalent in other countries, not just countries heavily affected by poverty.

 Not to mention that it actively reinforces that immediate reward mechanic since you get your wins immediately (withdrawing it is another issue though), unlike working which usually gives you the money at the end of the day at the earliest but usually every middle and end of month.

Yes poverty plays the biggest role in gambling addiction. A person from a poverty family is always in need of money so he looks for easy ways to make more money in less time. Finding the best way to make more money is through gambling, thus a poor family member becomes addicted to gambling. Demand for money, short supply of money, and greed for extra money makes a person from a poor family very easily addicted to gambling. A person from a poor family is always more likely to be addicted to gambling than a person from an affluent family, so countries where people live below the poverty line have relatively high numbers of gamblers.

From the list above, Nigeria is fourth on the list behind Religious belief has a role to play in the gambling countries like the UK and Italy. Both the poor and rich gamble and suffer the consequences of irresponsible gambling so the argument that poverty is the major cause of gambling addiction is unsound. IMO religious beliefs plays a bigger role in the gambling activity of people in a country.

We all gamble for different reasons. Some people gamble for fun and others gamble to upgrade their financial status. Gambling is not a route to escape from poverty, gambling with the thought of profits will keep you in a hole. The idea of winning big and becoming set for life keeps them going even when they are in deep losses.

You hit the right point, buddy; this is the root cause of people becoming addicted to gambling. Honestly, I have not seen upper-class or rich people who have developed an addiction to gambling. It’s not that they only play on weekends; in fact, they play more than poor or lower-class individuals. While the lower class can easily develop an addiction, it often lasts a long time. The reason is that rich people don't care about the money; they only play for happiness and to spend a relaxing time, while the lower class aims to earn more and more from gambling. When they lose, they start again because they have no other options, believing they will win the next time. Through this cycle, they win very little and lose everything, leading to addiction, which produces many more health and financial issues. So, for gambling, I think having some other source of income is very necessary to play well and avoid addiction.

Sure, there is a common view that the poor come to the casino to try their luck and the rich are looking for pleasure. However, gambling addiction does not recognize economic restrictions. Whether rich or poor everybody has the risk to get addicted if they can't control themselves from being encouraged by gambling.

I, for one, have not found the research to prove that poor people are likelier to fall into gambling addiction more than the rich. It is more about the levels of these in regard to psychology variables, like being able to control drive and risk, than it is about one's economic status. So while being under financial pressure could lead one into gambling, although, the possibility of staying away from addiction remains, it is dependent on self -control and not on being wealthy.

Are you trying to say that there are no gambling addicts in the civilized and Rich countries, who earn a better minimum wages when compared to that of your country? Poverty has nothing to do with gambling addiction. There is this taste of gambling in every individuals. The longing for the satisfaction of that feeling, is what makes people gamble. Not knowing when to stop feeding that desire for gambling, is what leads to addiction. One of the famous gambler,  Drake the Canadian rapper was once reported as a gambling addict, was it because of Poverty that caused his addiction to gambling? At the end, you will see that both the rich and the poor are not immune to gambling addiction

Yeah, I believe ignorance is definitely the fuel to so many problems that come of gambling and this is because poor insight to gambling can make the so called poor man think that he can actually make it through gambling and get all his heart desires which to a very high degree is impossible and such can't happen although there is a 0.1 percentage that shows people winning the jackpot but this now bring about the particular deadly thought that gambler confide and deceive themselves that it's possible to make it through gambling.

I believe poverty and hardship can, indeed, foster the drive for a quick money-making scheme, such as gambling. On the other hand, the main indicator of addiction is not an economic situation. It is the ability of the individual to discipline themselves. One could be in a tough financial condition. If they can control the desire to gamble and understand the risks, they will steer clear of addiction.

On the other hand, even much stable personalities can be hooked if they have no ability to rein in the urge to play on after victories. The keyword is self -discipline and self -control. When an individual begins to feel that they have to continue playing to pursue either victory or satisfy financial problems, then there is where problems start cropping up. Setting limits and sticking to rules in this sense is what matters most in stopping dependency, irrespective of one's economic status.

poverty may be one of the factors that people become addicted gamblers. with a little bit, they bet hoping to get a big win to meet their living needs. because that hope continues to grow so when they lose they will gamble more often. the problem is when gamblers with poor finances, but they force themselves to bet bigger. there is no prohibition for people with poor finances to gamble. but if our finances are still lacking, at least bet within our means.

poverty may be one of the factors. but I think the gambler's knowledge of gambling and its risks is the most important thing that makes them addicted. rich or poor still have the right to gamble. but be a responsible gambler.

I think that low wages do not affect the fact that people are fond of gambling. On the contrary, in rich countries they like to sit in casinos and lose huge amounts. However, the fuel for uncontrolled gambling is: boredom, desire for adrenaline, greed.
And these qualities are found in both rich and poor people. Therefore, regardless of the economic situation, it is important to work on your character.

Easy money is always much more attractive to the poor, but they don't they are playing against all odds, easy money always comes with great risk....consider that the poor don't have much choice either. The math is clear, if you only have $50 and you need $500, you have to risk a lot to make that x10. A rich man has millions, to make $1000 he risks much less...

So the little guy needs a lot of money, but all he has is just a small amount. So what he can do? If he chooses to gamble he will just dig his whole deeper than it is, but he is not aware of that because he is blinded by the lights and big wins from others.

That's why it's important to gamble just with the amount you can afford to lose, crossing that line will bring just problems and nothing else. We all know there are lucky stories about huge wins, but those things doesn't happen every day, and for sure not to all of us.

Yes, those are most of the facts that exist in the real world. Poor financial conditions force a person to do anything to meet his or her family's needs, but this is a different case.

Op does not mention the extreme financial pressure experienced by the gamblers above, but they are people who hope to make a profit from the gambling they play. Of course the money used is a month's salary, so the risk of losing and losing all that money is not worth the potential for winning. I never agree with that kind of gambling approach, of course because when they lose then they no longer have money for the next month.


Gambling is certainly an alternative for most people to make money, but that is not the real purpose of gambling. Even though I also want to win money from gambling, I know there are limits that I have to set, especially regarding the budget. Not using all of the budget is a good approach, meaning that only 10% of the existing budget can be considered safe.

In a financial stress situation I think it is usually very easy for someone to justify any means just to get money to overcome the financial problems they are experiencing, and not infrequently I also hear that one of the reasons someone steals is because they are experiencing problems in their financial life so they are desperate to commit various crimes to get something they need.

That means overall I agree with your opinion OP that experiencing financial problems can also be the main trigger for someone to make gambling an alternative to overcome their financial problems, although not all gambling scenarios with the intention and purpose are triggered by pressure from financial problems but most gamblers who come to make money are those who experience these problems with high hopes and beliefs.

this is a real interesting discussion also because has been conducted with a scientific paper (peer review - 2 IF).

I am not going to analyze the full work (it will requires a lot of time...) but I will just take conclusion for some interesting point...

As you can see this is just 1 dataset (clear there are some bias due selection).
Moreover the authors clear said "The study has some limitations such as that the dataset was only generated with a unidimensional scale, and that it was limited to undergraduate history students".
This lead to "future research will have to extend its range of sample by encompassing a more expansive sample of undergraduate students".

You can consider this just as a "description" / show of some data that it's really hard to provide evidence.
Even if you can (hypothesis) find some real evidence this is limited to a specific dataset and a specific "population".
This doesn't means that this theory is unreal or anything else, just more evidences should be provided to have some conclusion.

As pointed already by other user, even "rich western countries" have an issue with gambling addiction.
I come from Italy and I can confirm in my country there was a "gambling mania" with scratch cards, bingo and slots.
I will not point out to poverty (some people many times have also a "normal job"). Personally I explain this with strong marketing and heavy promotion (watch this ... is Italian language but images are pretty clear ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKgkYxWoZ-M ).
But I think that lack of economic / statistic / math education has created the explosive mix since people didn't realize what are the real chance of win and what are the risks related to this activity.

The gambling industry is the 3° in Italy as turnover! Here some data taken from a reputable source...
https://www.aboutpharma.com/sanita-e-politica/gioco-patologico-nessuno-sa-quanti-ne-soffrano-in-italia-dove-le-scommesse-sono-la-terza-industria-nazionale-per-fatturato/

Nope, it's just lazy and not willing to do whatever it takes to overcome the financial situation they look for something happens instantly which is like a miracle and almost never happens especially for desperate ones so provery is not the fuel the underlying cause which is greed to make.

There are still billions of people who is having financial problems but not chose gambling as a solution to them which clearly sums up its all up to the individuals.

Only lazy people are the ones who would really be thinking up this way on which it is really just that a shame that you might be able to consider up yourself on playing gambling just because you are seeing yourself being a poort. There might be some poor gamblers who do really be able to having this kind of mindset on whichit would really be something your driving for you to play even more because you do know back in mind that you could really be able to make yourself thatb eing a rich person on the time or moment that you would really be able to make yourself that being a winner in gambling. We do know in todays on condition on how
many people are really that sitting on the poverty line on which there would really be those people who would really be thinking up with possible ways and methods on making money,while others had been that
realistic approach to it.

Just as important that it should be when making up decisions because we know that once desperation kicks in, then it would really be that so damn hard to resist on the time that you
are seeing yourself making up some actions which are obviously it is really just that because you are trying out to achieve something. This is why you should really be
that careful on dealing with it because not intended for you to make money but rather you would be playing because for pure entertainment.

Everything is all about mindset. A poor person has different options to make money from, but chooses to go after gambling which can even drain him the more. A person who is not poor can also get addicted to gambling. What then could be the problem, it is all their mindsets. Their minds have been so affected that they begin to believe that there is no other way anywhere except through gambling. No person with a positive mindset will choose to consider gambling as a source of income, especially a poor person.

The sad thing to note is that, the majority of poor people who chose gambling as a source of income never got a better standard of living aside the false hope that things will get better some day.

Poverty is the fuel of gambling in most cases and this is why you can fine more gambling shops in poor people environments and fine banks and other investment institutions in rich forks environment, in most underdeveloped countries around the world, much more so it is a fact that poor forks gamble with the aim of winning that can make them excape poverty.

Rich guys gamble for the fun of gambling, and that is why you see that many rich guys are the high rollers in gambling, this also goes with rates of gambling addiction between the poor forks and the rich guys, you fine higher rate of gambling addiction in the poor environment than you also fine in the rich guys environments.

Actually, I don't think that poverty is what makes the gambler to become addicted to gamble, though if the person is poor then raising $1 alone will be hard, so why would the person gamble when he or she can not provide $1?
But what makes the gamblers to become addicted is that they have the believe that gamble can make them become wealthy, so they choose to stake higher believing that one day they will win huge money.
So, I think that the rich and the average salary earners are the people that gamble more. Let's say that the rich gambler for fun while the average salary earners gamble for profits, and having the believe that gamble can make you rich is what makes gamblers become addicted and having such believe is based on choice.

The hope of making a fortune without working hard but through gambling is one major reason for addiction and not poverty. A lot of gamblers at the beginning will always have it at the back of their minds that they want to hit the jackpot and change their lives with it, which is not true. This is what will trigger them to excessive gambling without reserve leading the to addiction. Only few gamblers will be able to understand that gambling cannot give you a guarantee of making profit and they discipline themselves due to excessiveosses. Rich and poor gets addicted to gambling, which means that addiction is for all when you lack self control and discipline.

But that should not be the case. I know most poor people are wiser than those who are rich. They can somehow budget their money for a long time even though they are paid just the minimum wage.
Because of the growth of the gambling industry, they become a gambling addict and not because of their status in life. They think they have the chance to win the jackpot because many testimonies come out that they are paid a lot in gambling.

I totally disagree with that kind of idea and I don't recommend it for every poor that is here in the forum. It's always out choice so we better think twice before we start gambling our money.
We cannot blame being poor to tell to ourselves that is the reason on why we gamble. It's just stupid.

When desperation kicks in then it would really be that hard to resist out specially if you are really that indeed need of money and we do know into our minds that gambling would really be the nearest thing
on which you could really be able to deal with so that you could possibly be able to attain up these things. As for addiction then yes it would really be that most likely that you would really be able to find yourself that getting addicted on the time or moment you would really be trying out to chase those loses or even trying out to be a winner. When money making would really be your main consideration then
you would really be that definitely be ending up on having those impulsive approach or actions that you would really be taking upon. Its one of the factors on being poor but not all would really be
ending up with this kind of approach on things and there were still who are sensible.

If this formula has worked don't you think that everyone in the third world country will start to gamble and eventually become rich ?
We do not have an ideal world where a person will gamble and win a 50$ or 100$ in a hour or in a day. Many times you will see people losing the seed money and at times, after winning some amount, lose everything in next games.

The reality is that if 100 people use this approach to get more money than their monthly income, only 10% or less may be lucky to succeed and the rest will lose all the money and become even more poorer.

We can possibly come up with many causes of gambling addiction, but there is no one reason that applies to everyone, X can go into gambling because he is poor and erroneously thinks gambling will make him rich, whilst Y can go into gambling because he has good money, but he wants to double it. Anybody who gambles because they are poor, will prolly get poorer, gambling isn't there to bring one out of poverty, it should be fun and not something your life hangs on.

Op I get the reason you are saying this however I still don't believe that poverty leads to addiction or that poor people are the highest percentage of gambling addicts. Rather I'm of the opinion that addiction leads to poverty. If you'll agree with me , there are gambling addicts out there who are rich persons still just like there are also poor people who are addicts. Addiction is simply the result of poor gambling habits and practices.

Let's logically analyse the fact that a genuinely poor person may not even have the funds to stake in gambling bets and games. Even if they do due to some nasty addiction, they is a high likelihood that they were in a better financial state previously before their addiction. My point is whether poor or rich, addiction is something that can affect any class. It's just a matter of stacked up poor habits.

Poverty could be one of the triggers for gambling addiction. But that's not the only reason for it. Have a look at the list shared by Charles-Tim. Six out of 10 countries are not poor, rather they are one of the most developed countries. So I can't agree to the statement that poverty causes gambling addiction.

There could be many other things that triggers such addiction. Even government regulations play a major role here. But this addiction is an individual mindset.

Poor people seem to try their luck at gambling and they really hope that luck will accompany them. Betting all the monthly salary on slots is not one of the best options if they want to win, I mean the probability of winning on slots is very low compared to sports betting. Many successful gamblers win at sports betting, but the problem is that some of them lose because they aim to win at high odds.

The wrong mindset about gambling is when you think that just by gambling you can double your money. Gambling is no longer considered a place of fun, but gambling is to make money for them. If they continue like this, then no improvement can be expected, except more losses.

In short, the reward of winning keeps the man gambling. This is true even in a country that is not poor. When the financial status of a man is not as great as a man who loves his job but continues to work because he has to earn, he will resort to something else and gambling answers it. A game of slot where you can just bet as little as $0.10 yet the thought of winning already is just a bottom away can make it addicting.  If the money can lift the poverty even just for a day, that's flowing dopamine.

What makes you think your country is poor? Is the minimum wage the basis for measuring country's poverty rate? The answer is simply No. In fact, Nigeria is among the countries that pays higher salaries and allowances to government officials. This simply means the country is not poor but suffering from bad leadership.

Going back to the topic of discussion, how about addicts who earn a decent amount on a regular basis to cater for their needs? Is poverty also their problem? I don't think so. You can not compare gambling winning with minimum wage because no matter how well you get paid, gambling makes use of multiplication and in no time it'll surpass your earning if accumulate the odds.

Addiction has to do with individual and not by what they earn or the category they belong. Sincerely speaking, most addicts are from well doing family. Of course, I'm not against your assertion but when we talk about real addiction, poverty is not the primary cause. Poverty actually makes a lot of people to gamble but Indiscipline irrespective of their class push them to addiction.

See the lists of top 10 countries that gamble most in the world:
https://www.analyticsinsight.net/uncategorized/10-most-popular-sports-betting-countries

India
United Kingdom
Italy
Nigeria
Canada
Brazil
Argentina
USA
Poland
Australia

The rate of poverty in countries like United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, United States, Poland and Australia are not much and they are developed countries.

Thinking of using gambling as a means of income will end up bringing disappointment to that gambler because your chance of winning an amount higher than your minimum wage every month is very slim since gamble is based on luck and no one knows when will be your lucky day.

However, your minimum wage is constant and that is why it is better because at the end of service you will be given gratitude and pensions. If you want to win and make profit from gambling your road to addiction is very close and addiction will destroy your future. Gamble for fun and not for profit.

This is one of the reasons why people become addicted to gambling.

I live in a poor country where the minimum wage is less than $50. It is not secret that the rate if gambling is one of the highest in my country and I think this is one of the reasons. A person can win more than their monthly  which is equivalent to the minimum wage in less than one hour by playing a slot game or any other game. This leads them to think to himself that if they their monthly income in under an hour, then I need to play more often so as to make twice  or even triple to meet up with my needs which the minimum wage doesn't meet. This thought pattern is reinforced by another win, even if is just once a week, it makes the neural pathways in the brain stronger, and this lays the foundation of gambling addiction. What you guys think?