No gambling psychology definition is complete, just as there’s no perfect cure to gambling addiction. But seeing as problem gambling is a significant public health and wellbeing issue, we need to expand our knowledge of the subject as new markets and gambling platforms emerge.

Gambling is defined as a set of games, behaviors, and activities that involve investing money at some risk and in the hope of a positive outcome. When a gambler is unable to control the urge to gamble and thus behaves detrimentally to themselves or others, it is referred to as pathological gambling.

Considering the prevalence of problem gambling and its potentially detrimental consequences, the psychology of gambling is increasingly focusing on prevention through primary screening in schools and primary care, and secondary screening in psychiatric institutions. Being a public health issue, gambling disorders need to be addressed through further research, education of the general population, and prevention programs.

The History of Gambling

Gambling is an activity that has existed since ancient times. It was a form of entertainment for many civilizations and played an important role for both rich and poor members of society. Some of the earliest mentions of gambling were found in the Bible, on Egyptian artifacts from 3000 BC, and on a game board carved into the steps of the Acropolis in Athens.

Gambling psychology can now trace the origin of gambling and (potentially) gambling addiction back to the first iterations of blackjack and paper money poker in China around 900 AD. One of today’s most widespread games of chance – the lottery – was founded in the 17th century in the British colony of Jamestown Virginia.

In recent history, gambling and problems stemming from it have been the subject of immense interest for psychiatrists and scientists. In 1924, at the very beginning of the development of the psychology of gambling, Kraepelin and Bleuler, described the term “gambling mania” as an affliction involving panic disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and various impulse-control disorders.

In the first half of the 20th century, Freud published an essay on pathological gambling by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, who described his experience of addiction in his autobiographical novel: The Gambler. However, it was not until the 1980s that pathological gambling was included in the classification of diseases of American Psychiatric Association, DSM-III, when more intensive treatment of this complex phenomenon actually began.

Definitions and Conceptualization

The study of gambling and psychology can sometimes clash with legislation in this field. However, the two fields acknowledge similar characteristics in defining gambling and identifying those who are affected. For example, one study refers to the term gambling as investing something valuable in an event that can result in a greater and more favorable outcome. The main features of gambling are the existence of risk and chance in the outcome.

As far as the legal definition is concerned, games of chance are those games “whose outcome depends upon an element of chance, even though skill of the contestants may also be a factor influencing the outcome.”

Psychology of gambling studies describe gambling as a spectrum of behaviors based on the frequency and consequences of a person’s gambling habit. This can range from the complete absence of gambling, through social and risky gambling, to problem and pathological gambling. The extreme end of this continuum is characterized by a constant or occasional loss of control over gambling, which leads to harmful psychosocial consequences and disrupts the individual’s day-to-day life.

According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association – DSM-5 – gambling disorders are classified under the broader umbrella of impulse-control disorders. Correspondingly, the psychology of gambling addiction is based on the definition gambling disorders as a “persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress.”

Given that DSM-5 includes the criteria for making a psychiatric diagnosis of gambling addiction, it’s important to include definitions of non-medical problems that are more appropriate for defining the problem in the broader population.

Such definitions contain similar elements and refer to behavior at the extreme end of the continuum: behavior that seriously impairs the functioning of the individual, is characterized by reduced ability to control gambling-related behaviors, harmful psychosocial consequences, potentially adverse effects of gambling on the brain, impaired family and professional functioning, lack of tolerance, and social withdrawal.

Gambling is an extremely popular activity among adults. Unfortunately, there’s also an ever-growing number of underage compulsive gamblers. Given that gambling in adolescents and minors is prohibited by law in almost all countries, there is a considerable lack of previous research on this issue. The assumption was that in countries with strong regulatory frameworks – such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia – the prevalence of adolescent gambling was extremely low.

However, it seems this isn’t the case. Psychology gambling studies on underage problem gambling started in the 1980s when gambling addiction practitioners and theorists identified the prevalence of gambling in the younger adult population, with adult gamblers often reporting that they had started gambling as minors. Today we know that the rate of compulsive gambling among adolescents is at least twice as high as that of adults, and ranges between 4% and 8%. It should be noted that these stats refer to minors with already developed serious, compulsive, and problematic gambling patterns.

Epidemiology and Socio-Demographic Profile

Studies into the psychology of gambling and casinos indicate that pathological gambling typically begins in early adolescence in men and later in life in women. Adolescents are at risk because of the very nature of development and growing up, which brings with it curiosity and the desire to test their limits. The age group most likely to gamble is those aged between 35 and 45 (54-58%).

Proportionally, the fewest gamblers and problem gamblers are those aged 65 and older (2-4%). They engage in gambling activities recreationally because they’re bored or want to “fix” their often unfavorable financial balance. With people in this age group, cognitive assessment can be critical in identifying potential problems. Because pensioners often have little or no income, gambling can do more harm to them in less time.

Gambling studies and psychological research news show that problem gambling could affect as much as 5.3% of the general adult population, with 3.9% being pathological. For the other 1.4%, “softer” types of gambling like bingo – which is widely legalized as a relatively safe form of recreation – can contribute to an increase in problematic gambling behaviour, especially in women.

PC games, video gaming terminals (poker, slots), and online gambling are also making waves. This digital revolution has led to a new form of compulsive behavior known as online gambling addiction. This has directly contributed to the emergence of narrowly specialized branches of research, including the psychology of sports gambling with a focus on online betting.

Apart from individual factors and traits affecting one’s predisposition or preference towards a specific type of gambling, cultural diversity also affects the prevalence and type of gambling people choose to engage in. This is why any analysis of gambling behaviour also needs to consider specific environmental drivers.

Participation in games such as lotto, gaming machines, bingo or, instant lottery (referred to as “chance-based gambling”) is currently more widespread than in so-called “skill-based gambling.” The latter category involves games like poker, blackjack, baccarat, and horse/dog racing, where skill plays a significant role. In chance-based gambling, the gambler has no influence on the results and all players have an equal chance of winning.

The psychology of compulsive gambling shows that pathological gambling usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood, with men typically developing the disorder earlier than women. Pathological addiction relating to gambling has a similar developmental trajectory to other addictive disorders, with high rates of adolescents and young adult groups, lower rates among older adults, and alternating periods of abstinence and relapse.

Regarding the psychology of gambling, new research on the risk factors and consequences of pathological gambling – as well as its connections with both substance and non-substance addictions and dependencies – refers to gambling addiction as representative of most non-substance addictions.

Indeed, the symptoms and risk factors for pathological gambling are similar to those of other types of addictive behavior, including drug habits. Much like heroin is the most severe psychoactive substance addiction, pathological gambling is considered the most severe non-substance addiction.

So how does addiction work? Modern medicine defines addiction as a chronic progressive mental illness with a tendency towards somatization, which is why gambling disorder was included in the new DSM-5 classification in the same category as addictions to psychoactive substances. There’s a bit of confusion between gambling as an addictive behavior compared to non-problematic types of gambling, as can be the case with other behavioral addictions.

For the purpose of avoiding confusion, other types of gambling should be differentiated from pathological gambling using clear terminology. When determining categories according to the psychology on gambling, the first group would consist of social, recreational, and responsible gamblers. These gamblers show no signs of addiction, no loss of control, and they can stop gambling while they’re still winning.

The second type refers to professional gamblers, who are quite rare in the total population of gamblers. They rarely lose, plan their gambling activities, refrain from compulsive gambling, and do not “chase losses.” However, because gambling is their primary occupation, they’re at high risk of developing the symptoms of pathological gambling, as well as other unrelated symptoms.

The psychology of gambling differentiates between male and female pathological gamblers as an important determinant of the causes and etiology of gambling addiction. Men addicted to gambling tend to be more socially isolated than women. Also, male problem gamblers more commonly seek treatment than female gambling addicts, which may be a consequence of the greater moral condemnation and stigmatization of female gamblers.

However, male pathological gamblers tend to have significantly more pronounced antisocial gambling personality traits than females, which is again very similar to gender differences when it comes to psychoactive substance addiction.

The winner takes it all?

The psychology behind gambling is a carousel of fun, recreational activity, and (often) an illusion of collective engagement. This context and leisure-driven associations may be the reason why 80% of American adults start gambling at some point in their life, for money, pleasure, or simply for the thrill. Although pleasure or the thrill may be initial motives for gambling, psychologists still have no conclusive evidence as to why some people cross the line and become compulsive about gambling, or indeed how to stop gambling.

The question of why people keep gambling even when it stops being enjoyable, especially gamblers who lost it all. Psychology of gambling still searches for answers to why people continue playing if they know the odds.

The Effects of Gambling on the Brain

Mike Robinson, a psychologist and addiction researcher, focuses on the brain to understand what is it that makes gambling so attractive. Based on his extensive research into addiction, he has found that the “hooks” may be found in the very design of games that are equally compelling for casual casino-goers and pathological gamblers. One of the key drivers of gambling addiction is reward uncertainty; it’s a primary factor in people getting “hooked” on gambling.

The effects of gambling on the brain are still being researched, especially in the domain of gambling psychology, but it seems that dopamine – the neurotransmitter released during pleasurable activities like taking drugs or having sex – is also released in situations of reward uncertainty. Dopamine release actually increases in moments preceding a potential reward, which may be the explanation for why dopamine release corresponds to a gambler’s individual’s levels of being “high” and probably reinforces the risk-taking behavior often encountered in gambling.

A considerable number of studies have indicated that dopamine release during gambling occurs in similar brain areas (the ventral striatum and the prefrontal cortex) as those activated by substance abuse or taking drugs. Moreover, the psychology of gambling addiction shows that, much like drugs, recurrent exposure to gambling and uncertainty may result in changes in the human brain.

Frequent and recurrent exposure to gambling and uncertainty can also lead to changes in the way people respond to losing. Contrary to common sense, in people with a gambling problem, losing money releases dopamine as a reward, just like it does in winning. Consequently, in compulsive gamblers, losing triggers the urge to keep playing, instead of being a warning sign that it is time to stop gambling. This phenomenon leads to what’s known as chasing losses.

The psychology of gambling losses suggests that the reward pathways, similar to those found in substance addiction, become hypersensitive. This in turn may result in gamblers’ cravings for drugs, which also serve to distort reality. Psychological changes are related to cerebral physiological changes, and the probable neurobiological cause is linked with hypo- or hypersensitivity and the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems, which are also associated with compulsive disorders.

While you’re enjoying the game, the secretion of epinephrine into your system increases, as do plasma levels of beta-endorphin. Catecholamine secretion increases, albeit insignificantly. Your heart rate becomes significantly higher, and that increase can lead to mood swings and euphoria – a mechanism similar to the one found in drug addiction (and an important input into the further development of gambling addiction psychology). Casual smoking can also lead to nicotine addiction. Nicotine induces dopamine secretion, and your affective and cognitive status is altered by the action of beta-endorphins.

Your immune system and heart rate respond because an increase in beta-endorphins acts as immunosuppressive, activating the immune system and the secretion of norepinephrine that correlates with heart rate. A significant increase in dopaminergic secretion suggests that dopamine neurons’ activity reflects in physiological processes and motivates people to play games repeatedly. A large body of research into gambling fun psychology supporting the classification of gambling disorders with other addictive disorders is based on neurochemical tests and brain imaging, which have pointed at the similarities in the way gambling and drug abuse activate the brain’s reward system.

The Pathways of Gambling

Pathological gambling has been an increasing focus of abnormal psychology, which studies unusual behavior, thought, and emotion patterns, which may or may not trigger a mental disorder. Blaszczynski and Nower describe the three pathway models of pathological gambling.

Pathway One gamblers are winning-driven and motivated to generate excitement, less dissociated, have stable personal/family lives, and are generally the least susceptible to depression/anxiety and substance abuse.

Pathway Two gamblers are characterized by poor coping and problem-solving skills, with substance use as a “booster” for gambling activity (dissociation/emersion and escape), narrow attention spans, poorer critical thinking, and a variety of vulnerability factors (such as child neglect and abuse). This type of person needs the escape, is susceptible to anxiety, depression, and comorbid conditions (mental health and addictions) and usually engages in high-risk skill games.

Pathway Three gamblers are impulsive and often need a combination of psychopharmacology and intensive interventions to deal with their addiction. They commonly have a family history of neglect/instability, are typically antisocial (probably diagnosed with ADHD as children), have low academic attainment, are disruptive, and lack attention and focus. In the psychodynamics and psychology of gambling, their motives for gambling are identified as stimulation and arousal, which is why they often resort to alcohol/drugs and a variety of criminal behaviors.

Ultimately, gambling addiction does not only affect the gambler; it may also exert influence upon their family, colleagues, friends, and loved ones to the point of jeopardizing their stability and wellbeing. Dating a gambler bears resemblance to dating a drug addict. If you know a person you date has a gambling problem, there are a number of ways to help them.

Most importantly, they need encouragement to escape the vicious cycle of escape and denial so that they can seek help from a professional. A loved one’s gambling addiction may use up your emotional, mental, and financial resources to the point where you would want them to change, but you need to understand that they might not be ready, even if they just gamble “for fun.” Gambling addiction is not incurable, but you should know that the healing period is very long and that there are no guarantees that a former gambler will not start gambling again.

Love, support, and help in seeking professional assistance notwithstanding, you can’t make someone change if they’re not ready for it.

Literature

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  http://hdreporter.com/technology/4188-designed-to-deceive-how-gambling-distorts-reality-and-hooks-your-brain
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