Topic: Why Gambling addiction?! (Read 239 times)

This is very good for you, it shows that you are not at risk to become addicted to gambling. As someone who doesn't feel that urge to keep gambling when it's better to stop, it can be hard to understand the compulsory behaviour of addicted people. We humans are not all the same, there are some of us who are more vulnerable towards addictions than others. In general I would not distinguish between gambling, drug, alcohol or even a gaming addiction. It becomes very difficult for a person to control their own action, even though they know it is wrong and will harm them. We also see that if some is struggling with addiction on one area, he is more likely to become addicted to something else. I have seen this myself with a good friend of me, we both started smoking during high-school but he was smoking much more than me. After high-school we both tried to stop but he just couldn't, it took him so many attempts but he still fell back into his old patterns. Only later when he went into gaming and started drinking he managed to stop smoking. Unfortunately he just switched his addiction for something new and was still unable to control his actions. Something we can't understand our friends why they are doing something. The only thing we can do is try to help them.

In fact what happens is that the brain can produce very similar substances or in some cases the same substances that we call recreational drugs, so what happens is that in some people some behaviors stimulate that response making people trying to go through the same experience over and over again, becoming addicted to the activity itself as it is what produces those drugs inside their brains, so as you can see a behavioral addiction like gambling or sex addiction is in principle the same as being addicted to an illegal drug.

The profile of someone who gets addicted to gaming is usually linked to other addiction in which you a very strong "high" when you win and it does not matter what you need to go through to get that "high". Everyone likes winning, but the typical human is very risk adverse. The gaming addict gets much more positive reinforcement from a small win that he or she gets from many losses. Along with that, they tend to have an inability to just stop when it is affecting their life.

We do differ in;

mindset
control your emotion
goals in mind
perception/views

Towards gambling or generally speaking with leisure things which people could simply skip or quit out instantly without having that craving inside on playing gambling.

Addiction would only be created if you couldn't really resist in doing so or being impulsive but if you could just simply stop without any problems no matter how long
it would be then I would consider that you are a person who don't easily get addicted or having a good control.

Completely different individuals with varying preferences such that every preference is satisfied. These preferences are most times influenced by the first experience one had with something. I believe the way one experiences something for the first time is a big determinant if the person will return to replicate their first experience. If your first experience of gambling was spectacular, you will definitely want to replicate the experience to me. This is how addiction begins.

People get addicted to many things. There are people addicted to eating, people addicted to drugs, people addicted to bad behaivors. There are many ways to get addicted to basically anything. It all has to do with the way your brain gets rewired after performing an activity that makes the brain keep giving out too much happy signals (Dopamine)
So everytime you do something that makes your brain think its supposed to dump out dopamine, it makes you happy.

Few things :

1. It introduces dopamine in your body and this overtime makes you addicted to the whole idea of Gambling again and again to have the happy chemical circulating in your brain.

2. Then comes the manipulation by the gambling casinos as well sometimes. << some people try and win back their money as well, this does mean that they will loose more and more in hope of getting their money back from the particular game or site  >>

This is honestly something that is quite complicated for a lot of people and then for some it's a habit as well.

Similarly if you gamble then you will start enjoying adrenaline rush. After a while, if you do not gamble then you will feel like more boredom than usual and your mind will seek same kind of adrenaline rush which is the starting point of gambling addiction and depending on the frequency of seeking adrenaline rush, your gambling addiction will be become severe.

The level of gambling addiction is subjective because we are all not living with same kind of society and culture even gambling at same places or same kind of games. It means your mind will relax itself when you are picking some other interesting things which will help you not get addicted to adrenaline rush.

Basically gambling addiction is a psychological thing; when we are not emotionally balanced and able to come over any emotional moments with gambling then we can safe-gamble withing getting addicted to it.

Addicted gamblers are always optimistic from the moment they start playing on, so the glass is always half full in their concept, what makes them blind towards the real risks and dangers they are facing. It leads gamblers to boost a sensation of invincibility and self-esteem inside themselves, consequently developing the addictive behavior, as the brain and the mind becomes more excited and impulsed by the adrenaline and emotions it causes along a gambling session. It's a fact some people enjoy living on the limit and under constant risks, so gambling becomes an option for them to live that lifestyle.

According to this article https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/compulsive-gambling/symptoms-causes/syc-20355178#:~:text=Gambling%20can%20stimulate%20the%20brain's,fraud%20to%20support%20your%20addiction.


And this article https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/why-is-gambling-addictive/


So we can say that gambling can stimulate the brain, especially if we can win many times. It happens to those who only want to enjoy gambling or know what gambling is in the real term. They start placing a bet on the games and as they are new in gambling, maybe some of them get lucky by winning for some money. At the end of the games, their brain receives the vibration about gambling to win more in the next days. They will come to gambling games again, whether they will come in the next few days or weeks.

If we do not block the stimulation on our brain, we will be back as soon as possible to have another "good" experience in gambling. But when we lose, our brain will get a new vibration that we still have the other opportunities in the next few days, making us come back repeatedly. Maybe the psychiatrist can explain more details about this as I cannot explain further.

There are two aspects to it.
Gambling because you need money or gambling because of habit. But these days the majority of gamblers are people who don't have means of income and they solely depend on the proceed of what luck brings to them. Your friend may fail under those who don't have job and will prefer to take a bath in the morning and go stay in gambling house and trying luck.

Very few gamblers are doing that as habit. Majority of gamblers do it because they want additional money to live and support family.

People find pleasure on such things, and the brain works in such a way that once the individual is exposed to a certain pleasure, the brain's reward center rewires everything in such a way that they'd exert 'more' feelings of pleasure from that certain thing. It could be drugs, sex, alcohol, or even gambling. On gamblers, they find the act of gambling as pleasurable, hence why their brain craves for more of it, leading up to the addiction of individuals to the said activity.

Addiction is, IMO, not discriminatory on what activities you do or substance you consume. The question is not "why gambling addiction" but rather "why people let themselves get hooked so bad?"

It's like any other addiction, everyone's mental and physical makeup is different.  Depending on personality and tendencies some people can gamble and walk away some can't.  Same with drugs, work, sports,etc..all the same.  Gambling is a brutal one since you can lose a fortune an an instant.  Lives are completely destroyed for people who cant control themselves

Addicts always deny that they have too much of it, even they are over on what they consumed, that's also true in gambling, a gambling addict thinks that it's ok to spend 5 hours or more in gambling and spend a lot of money, their alibis are they are having fun and they only lose what they can afford to lose, which is a big lie if you check their activity and money they eventually lose, they will fight anything that will stop from having to spend enough time in the casino they are playing, only a professional intervention can stop them.

thank you for all contributions. I know this is a delicate topic and isn't easy talk about that issue in a public forum.
please find below some replies, but again, thank you all for your messages.


Yes this is true, but this is not for all players. otherwise an huge amount of people get addicted to nicotine.
the same didn't apply with football or any kind of games. You didn't get addicted to play, but you get addicted to gambling!
There is something more in that case.

Some foods are proven to get people addicted.

interesting point

I think he is searching the "emotion" to win one month of salary with just a couple of euro. I know it's a beautiful satisfaction but isn't easy to achieve (I calculated he can win 1 each year so far) since it's really rare to achieve I am not searching this emotion (I feel better win little amount but little or no risk involved).
but in this case also this is true:

Agree with you

@Oshosondy
it has been completely useless. I tried in all way, even explain and showing my "bets". nothing has changed his mind.
butnow he has a "limit" so he can play only a certain amount each week. this is at least a first result

I believe that these are completely different addictions and although the process of getting rid of these addictions is not different at first glance it is not. Drug addiction causes very different feelings in a person (from peace to anxiety) and it mainly depends on what kind of drug a person uses.

Gambling addiction is caused by greed which constantly makes a person return to gambling and lose even more money. 

Could we say being an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol?  
At some point in our lives, I think we become addicted to something like playing badminton or chess. It's just unfortunate for someone who got addicted to gambling which is drug addiction. Both destroy lives not just thier own but the rest around them.

What happens to people when they start placing a bet is just like dopamine, placing bets also makes them happy and the happier it gets when they win of course.

This is similar to depression, in which we, as people who are not depressed, can easily say that the reason they became depressed was because their problem was too simple, and that depression is kind of stupid.But the truth of this is that we are so lucky that we are able to control our emotions, but when we put ourselves in their situation, they cannot control it. That is why they need help. This is the same with addiction. Mostly the cause of this is greediness to get back all the losses and the feeling of winning money. That is most of the reason we get addicted if we can't control it. If we can, then we are lucky. Anyone could get addicted to gambling because of the feeling that it is unexplainable.

Well as you’ve stated gambling is like drugs to a lot of people. The more you do the better you tend to feel up to a certain point. When you hit your best points it feels really good, however most of the time your best points are fewer and far between.  Personally it’s nothing I’ve been addicted to nor could be but I absolutely understand those whom are. I think they have to hit rock bottom first before they’ll ever change their ways unfortunately.

We can't blame those who are experiencing gambling addiction since we're not in their shoes but I think the main problem is greediness and lack of self-control. We have different principles but we have to put limits on everything that we do. Some players are aiming too high though they're having a hard time reaching the target goal that leads them to losses. As for me, allocating enough funds for gambling is a better option for us to put control over it.

You will know a lot about gambling, he/she needs your help. Give him life experience and what gambling has done to people, there are lot of news like that how some people even commit suicide. Your friend will only think there is possibility to make it in gambling, but it is draining his/her money as gambling does to addicts. Even if he will not change, he always needs your advice.

I feel comfortable if I place bet, I used small amount of money, I have nothing to worry about. It is even fun to watch the match or to check the livescore for update.

I was addicted before but not again when gambling almost destroy my life to the point I wanted to commit suicide, just that I was not bold enough to do it and I really appreciate I did not do anything stupid. This is what will happen to addicts and they may take their life themselves, this is the reason we need to make sure we let our family and friends that gamble too much to know what could possibly happen. I did not gambled for a year and I later blend.

Just yesterday over a transistor radio, I was listening to a comment section against the AFCON kick off between Egypt vs Nigeria hours before the game and it was a section that centered on an extremely risky bet from a serious addicted gambler. This gambler has just put out the only property of real value to both himself and the family on a bet that, Nigeria was to win.

It became an real issue to be talked about because, the wife didn't go easy with it. The wife actually reported the case. At first, she thought he was joking to have said, he was putting it out for a stake, after carry documents to summit to an escrow and she followed up then saw how serious it was. When she quarreled him on it, he simply recounted that, 'its through gambling he owns most of the properties he has today and even married her'. Should he loose,t the family would relocate to a smaller rented apartment and should he win, they would own two houses!

Now, thats some serious addictive gambler right there and his reasons counts for some gambling addictive behaviour. How could someone take such risk! What happened to the principle, 'stake or invest what you could afford to loose'. He took shelter on the means to what his wins or what he has gotten out of gambling and not taking notes of what he has lost. Big and little wins comes with promises that addictive only addictive gamblers see, they fail to recognise the caution their loses put out to them.

I have many friend who are also addicted on gambling .I have asked them many times why you guys not give up it they said the can't .They are serious gambler some of the has earned a lot and some of them has lost everything the have .Its a risky way of earning they said always the see a win chance and they sometimes they won and if get a win they have feel that they will win the next .After loosing the next one they try to recover and loose once again that's how they get addicted .I have able to make understand some of my friend and they ave give up this and some will never be changed their path .Its very dangerous addiction which can make street poor .However sometimes i try to place few bet though i got win a few but after seeing their addiction and loss i have decided to give up this way of earning .Now i try to change my mind into trading its another way of earning though have risk but more better than betting .

Gambling addiction is just like cigarette and alcohol addiction just like what you said, and yeah that is correct It is because people have different types of interest. People finds interest and passion in shopping, adventures, sports, and other kinds of activities. Gambling is among them. An individual becomes only addicted once he became excessively engaged into the said activity like gambling. It's not the amount of money that defines gambling addiction, instead it is the amount of time an individual is willing to allocate to gambling.

The saying is always right "everything in excess is not good."

I think it's on the individual itself that they suffer addiction, more often than not it is totally subjective since we are all unique. I can say myself that we are like in common OP and I still happy about it. When it comes to addiction or having a problem gambling as what others called I think there are factors for an individual that triggers them to behave this way e.g. family problem.

I asked you OP, what could trigger the good friend of yours to get addicted?

I'm guessing it's more of an impulse? Or a force of habit rather. Smoking has an addictive substance, hence why most people who start smoking get easily addicted and won't really be able to leave it at once EVEN with the proper mindset. Gambling, on the other hand, is purely an activity that really has no influence on your mind. It's more like the body itself craves it due to the emotions felt when doing that activity? I'm not particularly sure since I'm no scientist and all, but that's how I feel anyway when I feel idk, "hyped" up to do something? (Not just in gambling, you can actually feel it in other activities as well afaik).

Both addiction to drugs and gambling is almost the same since you are doing same things because you feel satisfied and seek comfort by doing it. People became addicted on gambling because they want to win to satisfy there cravings. This become a habit especially if they don't have other things to do to spend more time. Most the addicted are those who don't have much social life interaction or has an anxiety issue.

To addictions there is a physical and psychological component. For smoking, drinking, drugs, ... your body can physically become addicted to the substance and crave for it. However, more often the psychological component is more relevant where the body becomes addicted to the habit or the feeling.

For gambling obviously there is no physical addiction, as it is also the case for many other things people get addicted to, e.g. computer games, work, sex, ...
So for gambling people get addicted to their habit of gambling, or some aspects of it, for instance the feeling of winning a risky bet. This might give people such a rewarding satisfaction that winning becomes less important. However, other might be more addicted to winning lots of money than to gambling itself. This is probably different between people

We are all completely different and each of us has our own preferences. Some like fried meat and some choose to live a vegetarian life. Some people like black and some people like white and you can't change that at will. I believe that everyone's brain is unique so someone gets addicted to gambling by playing slots a couple of times and someone can control his gambling activity and play gambling only when there is free money and gets great pleasure from it.

Let me make an analogy with your body craves for nicotine.That is scientifically proved while what I am going to say it is not but I believe to be the case from personal story.I was once addicted to slot machines not that long ago,during 2020 through first months of 2021.I believe that our brain produces endocrine an hormone that makes us feel good during the session that we are playing and because we feel good most of the time during our game play except the end of the session which a mix of emotions guided by sadness changes things a bit we want to be back for more.

I think because our brain tells our body that it want to feel good again it is continuously telling us that we should gamble again to get that feeling again.This comes from my personal experience,I always wanted to play again to feel that good feeling that we have during the initial phase of our session game play.That is otherwise known as addiction.

In real life, I have a good friend that is totally addicted to gambling/sportsbet and he has really no intentions to quit gambling even if he lose a lot of money each year (no he is not "rich").

Why some people get addicted and others no?
People get addicted with drugs because it's like math. If you smoke cigarette .... after a while your body will crave for nicotine.

This is a question that I have a lot of time in my mind while following this section/reading history of other players.
Despite I am placing bets since a while I am able to not bets without any doubts for several months.
Sometime "I feel better" if I don't place bets nor I place bets.
I have my opinion about this argument but can't fit with all players / users addicted.

.. What happens with gambling?

Please post here in this topic your (serious) opinion about gambling addiction.
Topic self-moderated to avoid spam/useless comment.