Gambling Addiction

Mike was jubilant as he had just won 200,000 Naira (about $830) bet on the Nigeria-Cameroun football match.

It was a sure bet, a bet that is guaranteed to go in the player's favor, and he won.

There are people who gamble for the fun of it and not necessarily as addicts. These set of people just seek the thrill in gambling and usually do it during holidays/occasionally when they are looking for fun and that proverbial walk on the dark side.

These type of people is not the focus of this article since it does not affect them as it does the addicted ones.





Emma has always had this debate with him if it's so sure why do they still call it a bet? Emma knows betting involves risking money in an unpredictable event.

But Mike is far too happy to listen to his side of the discussion. Emma understands what getting a lot of money could do to a young person. They usually spend it on whims and whatever catches their attention at the moment.

Mike is celebrating a win today, he, like the majority of the compulsive addicted gambler, had forgotten the previous 5 times he lost an amount that is cumulatively bigger than the $830 he won.

He is using a logic that is familiar with gamblers, he only staked 20,000 Naira (about $53) to win this 200,000 Naira (about $830).

He has forgotten the $300 loss last week, or the $700 loss a week before that, or the $70 loss just yesterday, or the other two losses.

Mike gave his girlfriend a call to join them at a nearby joint.

Today, Mike wants to go to a nearby hotel to celebrate his big win, and he is looking for company.

Emma obliged, he would still go with or without him, so he might as well go and be sure he was not going to throw away his winning.

They arrived, Mike decides to leave their usual regular lounge and go up to the VIP lounge where the same services you get at the regular cost triple more.

Just before Mike ordered, the girlfriend, Fide joined them. He ordered a wine, which Emma noticed almost everyone there drinking.

When the drink arrived, and Emma saw the price tag he nearly shouted. It was almost as much he would spend in three weeks at home in food and upkeep.

Mike is not a rich man, but a struggling one just like his friend Emma.

To further buttress this fact, just last week Emma bailed him out by helping clear his rent to avoid him being kicked out by his angry landlord due to overdue rent. Mike does not have any savings but lives like the rich any chance he wins which is not that often.

Does the above scenario sound familiar or strange to you? It sounds familiar to me, as I have seen this type of scenario play out over and over again.

It is like re-watching a movie, you instinctively wished the actor that is about to open the door where the assassin is waiting to pump in those fatal hot leads, would turn around and walk away.

Helplessly you watch as he does the opposite and gets killed.





That is how it is with gamblers/betting, or staking, or whichever name that gambling is known as for today. They walk in that casino or bet shop and lose their life savings.

The House Never Loses

Gambling is not charity; it’s about profits for casino owners/betting company owners. The house never loses.

Once people realize that gambling is a business and every business is out to make a profit. Then a question should be asked, how do they get the profits?

The profits are not gotten out of thin air; it is the money from the likes of Mike that is used to build that massive empire.

The gambling company knows that they need your money, so they make gambling look attractive.

That they do by getting your favorite star to be their ambassador, so you can see your favorite celebrity face plastered beside the gambling company ad.

They also make it appear "cool", "chic", "hip", or whatever other names that connotes being in the latest or current fashion.

Into The Mind of a Gambler

Really why do people risk their money when they know the house always wins? Mike would tell you, "Put your money where your mouth is." That means he won't argue the outcome of the bet. If you are so sure of the outcome of the game, stake your money and stop the advice of telling him it's risky. The implications of this are that the Mikes of this world believe that they have more information than the average gambler. This singular fact moves the odds in their favor.

Here is an experiment, take out a certain amount of money say 40,000 Naira (about $106) and decide that whatever happens, win or lose, that you would continue to bet from this amount until there is nothing left. But if the money never finishes, then there would be no need to ever stop thereby proving my theory wrong. But in my experience, you would have to stop somewhere in the very near future because it is at best a zero-sum game.

Conclusion

The thing is, the allure surround gambling does not negate the fact that gambling is a bad addiction that had ruined many bright prospects with its allure of quick wealth.

But there is no free lunch, the only shortcut I know to riches is smart hard work.

The good news, bad news to gambling companies, is that the addiction could be fixed.

The addict can decide not to bet and save/invest the money instead. It is a hard decision but one that is doable.

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Image Sources:Lotto, Crying Grandma, Rolling Dice