Gambling is a process of playing games of chance in which you bet small amount in the hope of getting large returns. For instance when you buy a lottery ticket (as low as $1 – 3) you may win as big as $1million or even more. However, the chance of winning any prize would be 1 in 9 million (poker slot machine) and 1 in 100 (in trackside horse race).
This varies depending on the type of gambling like casino roulette, power ball, track racing and instant scratch game etc. You should be ready to lose your money irrespective of the kind of gambling game you choose.
Consider roulette game where the wheel contains 38 numbers of which 36 (18 black and 18 red) and 2 would be green in color. By doing simple calculations, one can understand that betting on roulette game the winning chance is 47%. In other words, for spinning the wheel 100 times the winning chance is 47 and losing probability is 53 times.
You may be wondering what is there to lose if I spend $1-$10 on any gambling. But think of the chance of winning the prize money. The probability of win would be meager and that’s how casino industries flourish day by day. In other words let us assume that 1000 people are betting $1 on particular gambling game and the event of winning would be just one person. That means the entire amount paid by others would directly go into the pocket of gambling company owner.
As per the authentic reports available, casino industry in California alone earned around $20 billion per year, from lottery and other kinds of gambling. You can calculate the amount lost by others (except the winner) would be roughly the same. In short every gambling trading company generates huge profits at the cost of others.
Online Carries More Risk
It is true online gambling poses enormous danger and risk when compared with physical gambling. No one would notice you sitting in your room silently placing bets online. And the minimum amount of bet you will place online is higher than that of offline gambling. You would be surprised to know that there are many scammers who would not allow you to withdraw your winning prize totally since you need to maintain minimum balance in your account.
Loss Vs Profits
Many people start to gamble just for the sake of excitement it gives when they win. But after repeated effort the person becomes ambitious of winning the game, no matter what he/she loses. There are people who spend only fixed cash on gambling daily, no matter what the outcome is. However human psychology is such that once you taste the chance of success (win), you become more and more greedy. At one point, you will never be able to come back without earning something. Total cash lost will be higher than the amount gained, in many cases of gambling and betting games.
Loss of Savings
Hard earned money will get wasted if you become a victim of compulsive gambling. You would have saved something for the next vacation or higher studies of your child. But it becomes hard for you to resist the urge of using the reserves for gambling games. Many times you would comfort yourself saying it is alright if I lose my savings, because I will be earning huge profits shortly and that money can be effectively used for future.
The concept of gambling is designed in such a way it gives the gamer moderate win initially so that he would end up losing more than he gains.
Money Management
You may not be able to manage finance as before, as you start spending more than you earn. It is not that easy to quit gambling although you wish to. Every time you place a bet you still believe the chance of win is possible if you place large amounts of betting. This would eventually exhaust the savings making you total loser end of the day.
Increasing Debts
Initially you will hesitate to borrow money from friends and relatives after losing the entire savings. But as time passes, you become a compulsive gambler and insist on taking loans and use other forms of assets for winning the casino or lottery. It is quite possible for you to mortgage your home for playing games of gambling. Before you started realizing the debts would be huge for you to repay.
Mental Health Issues
People end up losing hundreds and thousands of dollars after getting addicted to gambling. It can seriously damage one’s mental health causing anger, depression and loneliness. Feeling of guilt can cause chain reactions like losing hope of life, confused thoughts about future. It is quite possible for many gamblers to have relationship issues and loss of job.
Anger and Anxiety
A compulsive gambler can be equated with an addicted person. He cannot resist the temptation of visiting gambling casinos or other betting sites. Sudden burst of anger is common in such gamblers. Gambling is increasingly becoming a serious problem for people across the globe. At times, gamblers put the blame on immediate family members for their losses.
Ignoring Relationship
Constant gambler will in due course, forget important occasions in family and workplace. They become less attached with family and start treating them as burden. He will not get pleasure in other kinds of entertainment and casually slip away from attending family functions and parties. There are times your spouse may break-up with you due to increased addiction in gambling.
Low Self Esteem
You will feel sad and worried most of the time, due to problems at office and home. As you gamble more than your means, you are inviting more trouble. People who once considered you as a warm and kind person will start to look down on you. This increases the guilt feeling and you may regret very much and wonder whether you will be able to get back to normal life in future.
Overall, it can be said that risks override the profits in gambling and betting games. It is for you to stay alert and stop spending excessively in order to stay happy at workplace and home.