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The Psychology of Online Gambling

Let's face it, gambling is great fun. That's why it's been practiced and remained popular since a couple of neanderthals tossed some bones on the ground way back when. Obviously there's the buzz of winning. But also we should consider the anticipation of waiting for the wanted result. And then there are those who love it so much, that it takes over their lives and they're unable or unwilling to stop. There are so many questioned concerning our desire to gamble and take a financial risk. The answers are to be found within our foolish brains. Let's take a look at the psychology of online gambling.

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Image source: online.csp.edu / CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

Psychology of Online Gambling: Introduction

Many people have a view on the subject of gambling that comes pre-loaded with a negative bias. They see gambling, and gamblers as well, as either a waste of time and/or money and associate gambling with weakness. They see it as a lack of self-control. Many of those that look down on gambling is in fact, the opposite of those that gamble in the notion that they are usually not risk-takers themselves. This risk aversion causes them to shy away from activities that involve chance and the people who participate in them. Because they lean towards a totally risk-free life, they put a lot of emphasis on the negative aspects of games of chance.

More Than A Past Time

Then we have the group, like ourselves, who regard gambling as nothing more than a means of having fun and passing the time. We put online gambling in the same basket as playing video games or going to the cinema to watch the latest movie. It’s interesting that we don’t like to lose, but at the same time, we don’t take our losses too seriously. This is essential because we are optimistic people who are more focused on winning. We accept that we will lose a lot of time. But the odd win here and there is enough to sustain us. For us, it’s more about the journey than the final destination. On the other hand, it could be argued that the psychology of online gambling and online jackpot sites isn’t so strong within us. It’s just a past time and as soon as it’s over we move onto to other things in our lives.

The Desire to Gamble Explained

So why are some people more prone to gambling than others? What is the force that drives them? With some turning a simple past time into an obsession? Some psychologist believes that the desire to gamble can be traced back to our childhood. Not that we were gambling as kids, but that we made a connection between risk and reward at a very early age. This would later mark both our teenage years and our behavior as adults. For example, if you thought about auditioning for the school pay when you were a tiny mite. Of the possible outcomes, you wanted the one where you got the role. It would lead to being on stage, in the limelight with everyone and your parents watching you. Maybe they would be proud of your achievements. Maybe there would be other more tangible rewards, like gifts or a trip to McDonald’s.

Psychology of Online Gambling: Risk-Reward Loop

Essentially, you took a risk and hoped for the payoff. If the results were positive, then this would instigate a “risk-reward” loop that would subtly alter your behavioral goals in include these sorts of possibilities. These, in turn, are the things that you might focus upon as the means of achieving happiness. Behavior that leads to self-rewarding is driven by the endorphins and dopamine that are released in the brain. These cause a form of mental conditioning. Just like Pavlov’s dogs, we can start to actively seek out things that will give us the same dopamine rush. The psychology of online gambling leads to a sense of achievement and well being. It’s the reason that drugs are addictive. It’s not the drug itself, it’s how our brains perceive them.

The Importance of Control

Unfortunately, there’s always a reason that we can’t have all the nice things. It’s because some people have a lesser level of control. Or, to put it another, more sympathetic way, some people are more susceptible to the chemicals swirling around their brains. Logic flies out the window and is replaced by a form of reasoning that only exist to enforce their already warped view. For a gambler, this might be seen in the idea that a loss is actually a “near miss”. They mentally begin to overestimate their chances of winning. Not because they are eternal optimist, but because their thinking processes have become cloudy with chemical desire. We can see these types of gamblers spending the whole day at the casino, often chasing losses.

Watch Your Bank Roll

If you’re the type of person that finds self-control difficult is generally lacking, then we suggest that you set some home rules for yourself. This will help you to get a grip on those out of control desires that fill your brain with ideas of big cash wins and all the fantasies that go hand in hand with that state of mind. The first rules should always be concerned with how you deal with your gambling money. Being able to manage your bankroll is a basic requirement to being able to enjoy gambling in the long run. We think that setting actual limits on the amount of money you allow yourself to play with is always a good first step in the right direction. A strategy is essential if you want to learn how to win the jackpot.

Psychology of Online Gambling: Other Factors

Of course, the blame doesn’t lie with the gambler solely. The casino companies use every trick in the book to entice new gamblers into the virtual casino. There is any number of promotional and bonus offers that are all designed to create feelings of desire and fill the head with possibilities. Whether it’s by careful product placement or a web site design that funnels players into online casinos with the promises of riches, for the person with a low level of self-control, these are red rags to a bull. No one understands the psychology of online gambling better than the companies themselves. But at the end of the day, it’s all just marketing. Some fall for it, but many do not. And that’s why, if you fall into the former group, you need to set physical boundaries that’ll let you play without ruining your day.