What makes a gambler becomes addicted? Lose/winning?

[serjent05]

What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

Getting addicted to gambling is not about losing or winning it is about having an uncontrollable urge to gamble.  It is losing control over oneself when engaging in gambling.  According to research, it stimulates the brain's reward system[1].  It is the thought or urge  of winning something that has yet to happen which often leads to reward chasing or chasing losses. Any gambler trapped in this thought and unable to differentiate the reality will eventually get addicted to gambling. 

I think what causes people to be addicted in gambling is not really winning or lose but the mindset and lack of understanding of gambling.  When people have the mindset of generating money from gambling it can lead to gambling addiction and when their is no better understanding on how gambling should be played it can also cause addiction. When someone have the wrong mindset of gambling they would want to win more in gambling and when they lose they would want to alos chase all their  loses, that is why I don't think winning or lose can be the reason for addiction.  Mindset is just everything in gambling,  it determine how one should play gambling.

I agree with you that it is not the losses and winnings that trigger gambling addiction.  However, I partially disagree that the lack of understanding of how gambling works triggers the addiction. People who have been engaged in gambling also become addicted if they fail to moderate themselves.


[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/compulsive-gambling/symptoms-causes/syc-20355178

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Many of you have seen an addicted gamblers and if am correct some of us have been addicted to gamble but fortunately for you, you were lucky to realize how bad addiction can be and you limit yourself from gamble or take a break from anything bets.
However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

To answer this question is it's simplest form, I would say that both loss and win can drive a gambler into becoming a gambling addict, it completely depend on some factors, like the gambler him or herself, and also the circumstances at which he or she won or lost the money, and also depends on how the gambler chooses to treat gambling afterwards..

So, in essence, you can see that this is not a question that requires a direct answer, any one who is going to categorically tell you that it's a win that causes a gambler to get addicted to gambling, or that it's a loss that caused the same; simply does not know what he or she is saying, some people win huge amount of money, it enters their head and they believe they can win more if they play more, and so does their addiction come.
While other lose huge amount of money, and believing they can win that money back if they continue to play, causes them to start chasing after the loss, which eventually leads to them becoming addicted.
It's as simple as this.

[Coyster]

What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

I don't think it has to do with either winning or losing, people become addicted when they find themselves unable to stop gambling, irrespective of the outcome of the games they are playing. Remember that in gambling, one cannot also win all the time or even most of the time, thus if you are addicted, you'd find yourself losing a lot of money, based on the fact that you are constantly gambling, if you win a couple of times, your losses would far outnumber your winnings and that is where responsibility should ordinarily come in.

[ajiz138]

These two factors can cause addiction to win/lose depending on how he feels about the game, Yeah gambling players are really easy to become addicted especially when you win you will definitely try to play again right?

I agree with other opinions where environmental factors also influence you in addiction, for example now gambling is widespread among friends because of the easy access to casinos to play, where you also feel curious and want to play because you are carried away by the atmosphere of your neighborhood friends.

That factor can cause addiction, but fortunately we ourselves can limit it.

[Cantsay]

Many of you have seen an addicted gamblers and if am correct some of us have been addicted to gamble but fortunately for you, you were lucky to realize how bad addiction can be and you limit yourself from gamble or take a break from anything bets.
However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

I don’t know what others think but to me I feel it’s mostly cause by them losing - you know most gamblers when they start losing they’ll want to chase after their loses [if they are not properly disciplined] and during the process of them chasing the loses they’ll end up being exposed to addiction.

Once a gambler develops the mindset that “if I just make this deposit I’ll be able to win back what I lost in the previous game” just know that it’s only a matter of time before he’ll become addicted to it and not only will he be addicted but he’ll also spend recklessly on his gambling activities.

[Taskford]

Many of you have seen an addicted gamblers and if am correct some of us have been addicted to gamble but fortunately for you, you were lucky to realize how bad addiction can be and you limit yourself from gamble or take a break from anything bets.
However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

Most likely for winning since it urges people more to gamble since that is their main goal to get and they just got frustrated and feel challenge when losing since the feeling for wanting to get back their money is there.

All of that is risky behavior to have by a gambler since for sure that they are heading into addiction if they can't help theirself to stop unnecessary things towards dealing their gambling activities. But usually gambling addictions occurs on early party of our gambling participation since people are commonly hot at that point and want to gamble more because they think that its entertaining and aside for that they have high chance to win a lot of money especially if they could ever to hit a jackpot for the casino games they are playing.

[Wexnident]

~

The fact that they can turn their life around,  so probably winning, or rather the chance to win. It's no joke why some movies and films portray gamblers with lines like "just one more time, and I can get everything back". They're all hoping for that one moment.

And after it happens, they start thinking it can happen again lol. Not that weird considering how most people think of (or want to) winning instead of losing. This can happen btw regardless of whether you've won big or not.

[TelolettOm]

Many of you have seen an addicted gamblers and if am correct some of us have been addicted to gamble but fortunately for you, you were lucky to realize how bad addiction can be and you limit yourself from gamble or take a break from anything bets.
However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

Starting from winning. This usually becomes a trap from the odds to attract gamblers to believe that they can win again and again.

Then, it was his curiosity and challenge that made his addiction grow bigger every time he lost. However, no matter what the circumstances, they have increasingly become one with gambling, with excessive curiosity and challenges, and in the end, they are truly trapped in an unhealthy gambling situation.

I say unhealthy here is because a person who is addicted to gambling always has in himself a very high level of confidence that one day he will be able to win a large amount and be able to return the money he has spent on gambling, that is every time he bets again and still hoping that in the next round, they really win. But again, this failure became even more never-ending.

Because, as we know based on research, even worse, an addicted gambler is not at all different from a drug addict, who has quite the same addictive characteristics and thoughts.
Here is the quote:

A 2005 German study using such a card game suggests problem gamblers—like drug addicts—have lost sensitivity to their high: when winning, subjects had lower than typical electrical activity in a key region of the brain's reward system. In a 2003 study at Yale University and a 2012 study at the University of Amsterdam, pathological gamblers taking tests that measured their impulsivity had unusually low levels of electrical activity in prefrontal brain regions that help people assess risks and suppress instincts. Drug addicts also often have a listless prefrontal cortex.

Source: How the Brain Gets Addicted to Gambling

So, as long as the person is suffering from gambling addiction or compulsive gambling, what will happen is that you cannot stop betting and continue to do it like a habit and necessity that ordinary people do, such as eating and drinking, in the hope of extraordinary winning rewards. But what is certain is that no matter how much the gamblers get from gambling, they will then come back to use it for gambling again and again. It's a lie if they stop when they win, they will actually become more addicted to betting.
Source: How people become Compulsive gambling

[adultcrypto]

I have read through many replies and it seems people think more that winning is the major cause of addiction, that I agree with but I also want to saying that losing can lead to gambling addiction and I will use my case as example. There was a time I was so desperate of winning so I decided to load my gambling account with about 30% of the total I had in my bank account, which was not enough for what I wanted to do with money then. Somehow I lost the money and out of anger I decided that I was going to get my money back even if it was going to cost me the entire money in my bank account. Hence, I kept making deposits and losing and continued until I lost everything. Even with the depression that followed, I never forgave the casino as I still had it in mind that my money would not be lost. It took me a great deal of efforts to forgive myself and the casinos, and that was how that desperation stopped. This experience made me realize that losing can make one addicted to gambling.

[Spaceman1000$]

Many of you have seen an addicted gamblers and if am correct some of us have been addicted to gamble but fortunately for you, you were lucky to realize how bad addiction can be and you limit yourself from gamble or take a break from anything bets.
However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

What makes most people get addicted to gambling cannot be limited to just two factors, there are different reasons why most people get addicted to gambling, a lot has been mentioned already by members of the community, but basically one of the major factor is greed, as most gamblers don't know when to stop, and this can snowball into an unconscious addictive gambling lifestyle.

Between a lose or win. if you've lost too much in your betting, I think common sense should tell you that, you should stop and have a break before you go Bankrupt, because losses is not a good form of reinforcement or motivation.  

Winning is good form of motivation, so most persons can be addicted based on their frequent winnings ways, But when addiction is involved, it connotes a different meaning because the person's psychology has been affected and that is not good for anybodys mental health, so to a large extent, winning can build some form of addiction to a gambler.

[Yatsan]

Both are drives that could get you addicted. Winning could push a gambler to be greedy and want more profit. Even if they lose, they might crave for the experience of winning afterwards which hooks them to continue betting. Same thing's with losing wherein a bettor could get frustrated of winning. Greed and frustrations or regrets are simply emotions connected to both winning and losing that we should be avoiding and one way to do it is to accept how gambling really works not only for you but to all bettors. If you are lucky then you'd win. Condition is "IF" and that means without any assurance. There are times you'd win and instances you won't. Best thing is to manage oneself and the risk of losing bigger amount to also avoid getting emotionally affected by the results.

[robelneo]

What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

I think it is more on the stimulation; I have seen people getting addicted even though they are not winning. They are just excited to be playing or betting, and the motivation to win just strengthens the stimulation.
You always want to feel the excitement over and over again regardless of the means to get it.

[AmoreJaz]

What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

I think it is more on the stimulation; I have seen people getting addicted even though they are not winning. They are just excited to be playing or betting, and the motivation to win just strengthens the stimulation.
You always want to feel the excitement over and over again regardless of the means to get it.

Either way, they can provoke a gambler to be addicted to this activity. And it relies on the goals of the gambler why he is into gambling. If that gambler has nothing to do and gambling is the only thing that occupies his time, high likely that he will get too deep on this without him knowing about it.

Addiction will be tested by time. If the gambler won't sit down and assess his situation, he will go deep in this activity up until it is very hard for him to traverse a different path. Most addicts can't tell when he started to become one, because he was too busy playing that he was already too immersed he didn't know he's already an addict.

[traderethereum]

People become addicted to gamble because they lose control when playing gambling and can not manage themselves for their gambling activities. They are not aware that gambling is not a making money place so when they lose, they thinks they can gets their money back if they still playing gambling.
If they lose, they become curious and want to keep playing gambling by depositing more money. They don't think that could increase their lose and makes them addicts to gambling.
They can become addicts to gambling when they win because if they win, their minds will telling them to continue playing gambling while they have their luck. Their minds will seduce them to spends more money even by using their wins money but they will still difficult to get the next winning.

[len01]

An gambler who can be addicted begins with the first win that drives his mind to assume if gambling can make money and after that they will bet again and become a bigger loser after that thinking of chasing the defeat and making addiction. But gambling addiction is also not just about losing or winning but also related to relieving emotions or depression of his life and spilling all his emotions in gambling and ignoring how much money they have spent on gambling.

[crwth]

I think, if we go down to the fundamentals of why people gamble it is that they want to profit and when they have some kind of reinforcing experience that they want, Like winning a big jackpot, Then it is Harder for someone to stop themselves since they have experienced it and they are thinking that it is possible to do it again hence the continuous cycle of a gambler.

If you could accept that, I think you already know that one of the reasons it is happening Is Because of that.

[Julien_Olynpic]

I used to think a lot about what makes players become addicted. And I gradually came to the conclusion that elements of my worldview were pushing me towards this. Simply put, people believe that they can make a living through gambling. However, they do not have the appropriate skills and, moreover, people are not able to acquire these skills. In other words, we have a discrepancy between the difficult-to-realize desire to make a stable long-term profit through gambling on the one hand and the lack of strategy, risk and money management, skills to make a profit or, in other words, the lack of a high-quality gaming system on the other hand. The desire to make a profit from gambling and the lack of a gaming system that could realize this desire is difficult to realize. At the same time, the person himself is not fully aware of this.

[Apocollapse]

I don't understand what's the logic of this question, sounds like someone who want to gamble can choose whether they want to lose or win and avoid either of both, while both lose and win are inevitable in gambling.

I agree with other opinions where environmental factors also influence you in addiction, for example now gambling is widespread among friends because of the easy access to casinos to play, where you also feel curious and want to play because you are carried away by the atmosphere of your neighborhood friends.

Being curious and try something new isn't an addiction, it's really normal for someone to try what their friends doing. Even you and your friends are regularly gambling, but it can't be called as an addiction yet, you might only gamble when you meet your friends, which is called as social gambler.

[Reatim]

However, it's just a simple question about addicted gamblers, like the topic above.
What really makes a gambler to become addicts to gamble?
Lose or winning?

I would say winning. Winning constantly would make someone more likely to keep gambling. It makes him happy and therefore he would continue to do it. If someone loses a gamble, yes he might continue in order to catch his losses but I think more people end up stopping gambling because of too much losses.

No one gets addicted to losing. It’s the winning that people crave the most.

[Poker Player]

Both. It's the emotional ups and downs that get you hooked. You're shitting yourself because you're not getting anything and then suddenly you have the rush of hitting the jackpot. In the end it's a kind of dopamine addiction, as there are many today, especially related to the Internet (addiction to likes, porn, online gaming, etc.).