Tips and education

Ok, so we all understand that gambling offers you the chance of winning money or prizes, this rarely the whole truth. Its a question often asked about by relatives and friends as they cannot understand why gamblers are putting themselves and their loved ones through such pain and unhappiness. If something is causing such a problem, why not just stop and be happier? A similar question is “why are some people able to gamble within their limits without developing such problems? Does it demonstrate a sign of weakness, or the inability to cope? However, the truth of the matter is rarely so simple. Gambling problems are often experienced as being completely outside of the person's control, and 'just stopping' isn't felt to be a reasonable option. 

​

A lot of gamblers feel they are waiting for the 'big win', which never comes but always seems tantalisingly close. But often, they find having a big win would simply fuel their desire for more gambling, leaving them feeling trapped into a behaviour with no way out. This would suggest that being 'in action' is the most important thing, rather than winning an amount of money. A big win can change gambling from entertainment to being about winning money. The problem here is that all forms of gambling have a house advantage meaning, over time, the house always wins.  Or more importantly, the gambler always loses. This means any gambling you do that is driven by a need to win money, including trying to win back money you've already lost, is not going to work.

​

Most people think about gambling as a low-risk, high-yield proposition. In reality, it's the opposite: a high-risk, low-yield situation. The odds always favor the house. Despite that, the thought and excitement of hitting the big win is often too alluring - regardless of its probability.