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Reasons We Gamble – What Drives Us To Betting?

Humans have been gambling since the first Neandertal threw knucklebones onto the cave floor. And since then, gambling has never gone out of fashion. Today, thanks to the internet and online casinos, there are more people gambling than ever. So we have to ask ourselves, what are the reasons we gamble? What drives us to risk our hard-earned cash to the whims of Lady Luck? It turns out that we are programmed a certain way. And the desire for both risk and success is hard-wired into our brains.

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Why Do We Gamble?

It’s interesting to note that over the course of history, one of the mainstays of human behaviour has been the desire to gamble. In some ways, you could say that gambling is almost intrinsic to humanity. Whether it’s challenging a friend over a silly pointless outcome, or heading off to the sportsbooks, to bet huge sums of money, the nature of gambling seems to strike a deep-seated desire within us. Some behaviours may be innate. Yet we learn others behaviours through experience. So we have to ask ourselves, what is it that causes us to gamble? What’s the reason we gamble? And this leads to another question. Of how we can control ourselves so that we don’t end up losing everything?

Reasons We Gamble: An Illusion of Control

The human brain tends to be predisposed towards overconfidence. For example, just a smattering of knowledge can leave many people with a false sense of security that they are almost an expert in the subject matter at hand. Just look at all those opinions on social media about things that would normally require a huge depth of knowledge and experience. The human brain refuses to admit that we are incapable of making an educated guess. When it comes to gambling, then this overconfidence leads to the belief that we are more skilled than we really are.

It also leads us to consider that our skills are going to dominate more than any factor of luck. You’ll see many casino players who are absolutely certain of the next result, and yet fail to take into account just how much luck is involved with the outcome of the game. A psychologist would point out that there are two major factors involved in the gambler’s illusion of control. These are two important factors for the reason we gamble: personal choices and near misses.

Personal Choice

The ideas behind personal choice determine our illusion of control. If a player is facing the option to have an active role in arranging the gambling, such as choosing a lottery ticket or rolling a dice, then this choice creates the illusion of control. It’s one of the strongest reasons we gamble. It allows the gambler to imagine that his skills have some influence over the outcome. Yet in reality, the outcome of the roulette ball coming to rest on the wheel, or the dice falling back onto the craps table, is entirely random. Unfortunately, this clever rewiring of the brain can lead to longer periods at the casino games table. Furthermore, it can lead to an increase in the size of the risk and thereby the increasing size of bets you’re placing. As you can see, casinos make good use of the psychology of gambling.

Reasons We Gamble: Near Misses

A near miss, when it comes to casino games, can be the closeness you get to the jackpot but without actually winning it. An example might be being just one number short of winning the lottery. Or of landing on the next pocket to the one you bet on at the roulette wheel. For a sports bettor, it can be seeing your horse coming home second as opposed to winning the race. These near misses (or near wins, as a gambler might see them), serve to amplify the sense that the gambler just needs to up their skills a little in order to win. Once again, this is fantasy taking precedence over logic. That’s because many gambling activities rely solely on luck. Something a gambler doesn’t want to admit to himself.

Betting and Winning Gives Us a Natural High

Many non-gamblers wonder why anyone would bother gambling. After all, as the saying goes, “the house always wins.” Looking at the size of the casino industry, and the enormous profits they make, it’s easy to see just how much money they are able to take off the average gambler’s bankroll. But the fact about gambling that much non-gamblers miss, is the fact that taking risks is exciting. There is the tantalising promise of winning at your fingertips. And when people win money, we can see that the brain patterns become very different. There are a number of set behaviours, often to do with sex and food, that the mind reinforces. This also happens with behaviours such as drug abuse.

This reward function, which consists of a dose of the reward chemical, dopamine, also happens to work very well when it comes to gambling. If you want to experience a buzz from gambling online, then try your hand at 22Bet Casino. They offer all new players a great welcome bonus of 122% up to €300. This will certainly keep you playing for longer, and thereby increase your jackpot winning chances. As far as bang for your buck goes, they are by far the best casino site to play.

The Gambler’s Fallacy

Because gambling tends to turn off the logical parts of the brain in favour of those looking out for excitement, it’s easy to fall into having false expectations. You’ll see this most often when players believe that they can influence the outcome of totally random action. In gambling circles, this is the dreaded “Gambler’s Fallacy.” It should represent one of the very last reasons we gamble. For example, at the roulette table. Many players believe that if you simply bet on one colour, say the red, and keep increasing your bets, then you’ll eventually win.

Unfortunately, this will lead you to max out the table betting limits. And there will still be no guarantee that your colour will win. Keep in mind that if the little ivory ball has landed on red 50 times in a row, the chances of it landing on the red again, revert back to 50/50 between the red or black. In other words, past outcomes or results have zero influence on future results.

Reasons We Gamble: Aversion to Loss

We live in a society that tends to prioritise “winners” as opposed to “losers.” When it comes to the reasons we gamble, it’s been seen that a gambler who places a wager immediately after losing one, will actually be more irked by the loss than by the thrill of an upcoming possible win. It’s interesting to note that women also don’t like losing. But more importantly, they don’t like to be seen losing in front of other women. That’s why in the casino, women tend to favour private rooms for gambling.

Reasons We Gamble Loss Chasing

Unfortunately many activities that stimulate the production of dopamine can also lead to compulsive behaviour. What’s interesting is that those gamblers who have had considerable losses will still continue to gamble. This is not so that they can experience the excitement of a win. But rather so they can cover those previous losses. The problem here is that this is not one of the best jackpot winning strategies. It’s not going to be the one that will yield any possible wins. This is known as chasing losses. Here at Jackpotfinder.com, it’s something that we suggest all gamblers are wary of. That’s because chasing losses is a key sign of compulsive gambling. So don’t be that guy!

The Social Aspect of Gambling

Many children are exposed to a more subtle form of gambling when they play cards at home with their parents. This doesn’t necessarily have to be for monetary gain. But in many ways, it will subtly condition a young person into the mindset of the excitement of playing cards. That doesn’t even have to be any money involved. This shared experience, in a safe and loving environment, can be a catalyst for later gambling behaviours. Those that lead someone to look for a similar unconscious experience in a casino. It’s important to remember that many family activities are also social activities. They bring similar-minded people together over a shared interest and is one of the main reasons we gamble.

At the end of the day, we suggest that you try to keep your logical hat firmly on your head at all times when it comes to casino jackpot games. Or all types of betting and gambling, for that matter. And always choose to bet responsibly at all times. Why not head over to 22Bet Casino to try your luck to win the jackpot online. They have a huge selection of amazing live dealer games, as well as all your favourite slots.