What happens when we gamble to win?

What happens when our motive to gamble changes from entertainment to hunger for big money? As Finnish players love their lotto, its always the thrill to hit that 7 correct numbers and change their lives for good.

Obviously, you’d never buy a lottery ticket if you knew you wouldn’t win.
Nobody wants to give away their hard-earned money!
But there is a clear distinction between a person who buys a ticket for “a minute of excitement” and a person who gets ten tickets, eager to scratch them to see if he won.

(Did you know that the return to a player for most scratch tickets is below 50%? It’s a mathematical suicide, in other words. We’ll talk more about the return to player in a few weeks.)

The person who buys ten tickets is doing it to win. But what is the problem with that?
It’s still fun. Right?

Gambling to win?

Before we continue to discuss that, let’s look at a few games that mainly,
in my opinion, focus on winning money:

– All gambling on online casinos
– Sports betting where you play on more games than you watch
– Poker
– To play Blackjack often in the bar
– Slot machines in bars or restaurants

When a person gambles to win, some of the following can quickly happen.

– The amounts and bets are increasing
– The gambling takes up more time
– There is a clear motive to win
– The craving to gamble grows
– You think about gamble even while you’re not gambling.
– Gambling to win money is like playing with fire. Especially if you’re prone to become addicted.
(You can test yourself here at Peluri ) Can you recognize any of the behaviors above?

Can Gambling Be Fun?

We don’t recommend any gambling. At the same time, life is about making fun of things. Many dreams about visiting Las Vegas. They dream of taking a chance at the Roulette table. Bet €100 on 13, to see what happens. Similarly, supporting the local sports club is not about winning money. You do it for the experience and as a nice gesture.

We reckon that all casino games are about winning money — most gambling commercial emphasis your chances to win. To be fair, there has been a shift in the focus on the commercials in Sweden in 2020. There are more elements of excitement and fun than million-dollar jackpots today. (I believe this is a step in the right direction) The limited bonus offers have also made it less attractive for the casinos to focus on “the big bucks”.

When it comes to slots, they can for sure be entertaining, but the risks that everything falls over the edge are way too big, particularly if you win in the beginning.
Jarttu has always had his up and downs, here is a video of him hitting a big win

More Jarttu84 big win videos Here

All the games have the same risks!

The same thing can quickly happen in sports betting.
When focus shifts from a comfort bet on Manchester United in the game against Arsenal (Arsenal fan) to betting on many games, it’s easy to lose control,
and the bets may increase to get the same dopamine boost.

Poker is all about money. Everyone who plays poker knows that it’s a game of winning or losing money. Poker doesn’t work without monetary stakes.
(One exception might be strip poker  )

Even professional poker and sportsbook players can have gambling problems.
The different to 95% of us others is that they win.
Still, many of them have issues with gambling too much.

Be on Control!

When the stakes increase, things can go out of hand quickly.
It is very rare to hit a big win from casino slots and with a big win comes more likely the scenario where the player starts betting higher stakes.
Suddenly, small winnings do not give the same positive kick anymore.
The bets increase to keep the excitement going.

As a consequence, the person moves further out on the Addiction Curve.
Do you remember the definition of gambling problems?

”Someone with gambling problems has started to lose control over the gambling. Gambling takes up more and more time. The fun of the parts is still larger than the negative consequences, though.”

More articles at responsible gambling are coming soon!

Gamble Responsibly!