A lot of people try to minimize the devastating impact of gambling on people's lives. A lot of people came up with ideas such as gambling responsibly, or gambling in moderation, but is it really something that people can easily do? Is it even a realistic goal or idea? Who are the people who are pushing all of those ideas, and are they on your side or just for their own pocket? As someone a former gambler, I will give my honest answer regarding this point of view of gambling.
You can not gamble responsibly or in moderation in the long time run. The reason is straightforward, every time you gamble, your brain's reward system gets activated, and it releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and rewards. The effects of dopamine are similar to those of certain drugs because both can stimulate the brain's reward system, leading to feelings that reinforce the desire to repeat the same behaviour over, and over. This can create a powerful addictive gambling cycle which will lead you to lose your sense of control, push you to gamble over the budget, push you to start chasing your losses, and gamble with money that you were not even supposed to gamble with.
In the following lines, I will share in more detail why you can not gamble responsibly in the long term, and how even gambling can affect you in the short term, and I will talk about who are the people who are pushing all of those ideas, and are they on your side or just for their own pocket?
Thinking To Gamble Responsibly is Just a Trap
We can not gamble responsibly, just for the reason that gambling pushes our brain to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and rewards. The effects of dopamine are similar to those of certain drugs because both can stimulate our brain's reward system, leading to feelings that reinforce the desire to repeat the same behaviour over, and over.
So that we can better understand, if the effects of dopamine are similar to those of certain drugs because both can stimulate our brain's reward system, leading to feelings that reinforce the desire to repeat the same behaviour.
Would you recommend someone to start doing drugs responsibly? I guess not, because if they start taking small quantities every other weeks or months, over time their brain will become accustomed to that drug, which could potentially lead them to an addiction.
So if you become a gambling addict, you will not gamble in moderation, you will gamble over your budget, and you will gamble with money that you were not even supposed to gamble with, which will lead you to debt and big financial crises.
Lastly, the people who are suggesting that we can gamble responsibly come up with solutions like setting up weekly or monthly gambling budget Limits, but those limits can be changed with just a simple click on a gambling app, meaning if we lose our money gambling, we can easily continue gambling to start chasing those loses, which often lead to more loses.
Who Are The People Who Are Promoting The Idea That You Can Gamble Responsibly
There are many groups of people who promote the idea of gambling responsibly, and the following groups are the most well-known.
Gambling Industry: Casinos, online gambling platforms, and betting companies promote responsible gambling to maintain a positive public image and comply with regulations. While their initiatives may help some gamblers, their primary motivation or goal is often to ensure their long-term profitability and avoid stricter regulations. The gambling companies are only promoting responsible gambling for a good public view, but they are really after your money, and they want to make as much money as they can from you. They don't care if someone becomes a gambling addict, or how it might destroy your life, they only care about the revenue they can generate.
The Government: The government advocates for responsible gambling to try to reduce the societal harms associated with gambling addiction. The government already knows also that online gambling already exists in the black market in the country and those gambling companies are generating billions of dollars annually. So the government need to regulate those companies so they can start collecting taxes, and create job opportunities for a lot of people. The only issue is that regulating gambling will increase the availability of gambling companies, leading to a rise in gambling addiction behaviours.
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