GSS 012: A Take on “Responsible Gambling”

Full Episode Transcript

This is episode 12 of the Gambling Still Sucks podcast. In this episode, we’re going to discuss a theory I have about normal gamblers and compulsive gamblers.

Hello and welcome to the Gambling Still Sucks podcast. My name is Jamie. I am a compulsive gambler and I’m also the host of this show. The last time I gambled was July 15th of 2010.

One of the things that really bother me about a lot of the advertising campaigns that are out there to supposedly help compulsive gamblers or problem gamblers, or even just the normal person to help them not cross the line into problem gambling, is the whole concept of responsible gambling and gambling within your means.

Maybe I just have a jaded view based on my history and seeing so many other people have a similar history. But I just wanted to explore and discuss my hypothesis on this situation.

Again, I just want to outline that this is just my hypothesis. This is something that I have seen over the years, and it’s just kind of my gut instinct. I could be completely wrong, or I could be onto something.

First of all, I just definitely want to say that I know that people can go to a casino and just gamble recreationally. One thing I’ve really struggled with is just not being a hypocrite when it comes to gambling.

Obviously, as someone that can go out and just have a drink and be done, I know that there are people out there who can gamble occasionally and not let it take over their lives. I know that there are people that have gambling problems, and I know that people can go to a casino and gamble normally.

So I’m trying not to be hypocritical, but it just seems like with gambling, I personally think there’s something a little bit different. I think one of the things is that as a society, especially here in the United States, we place such a huge priority on financial status.

Your financial status and your bank account dictate so many other things in our lives—or at least that’s how we think. It dictates what kind of car you drive, what kind of house you live in, and all these different types of things, including the schools that your kids go to. We place this huge emphasis on money.

If you ask people what they want more than anything else, I think a lot of them will say the nice house, the car, and a bank account so they don’t have stress. We view money as a way to eliminate our stress and to live a comfortable life.

With gambling, that’s at the root of all of it, right? If we talk about the entertainment, it’s still money—you’re going in there with X amount of dollars, and you hope to come out with a multiple of X when you leave. If every time we went, we were guaranteed to come home with less than we started, nobody would ever do it. Watching those wheels spin and playing cards is not fun unless there is the hope or the opportunity to increase what you started with.

I approach this as someone who has been on both sides of the spectrum. My wife, for instance, is the opposite end of the spectrum compared to me. That’s why I know there are people out there that can go to a casino and are not compulsive gamblers. She can go in with $20, lose that money, and say, “Okay, that sucked,” and move on with her day.

This kind of gets me to the basis of my theory or hypothesis. One thing that’s really different with my wife, and I think a lot of other people that can gamble in that way, is frequency. I don’t know the exact number, I can ask her and try to find out, but I would venture a guess that my wife has probably been to a casino or done any type of gambling in that regard maybe three to five times in her life. If the number is north of that, it’s not much more than probably six or seven.

She’ll go to Vegas with her girlfriends, they’ll go to see a show, and they’ll go into a casino. Like I said, she’ll go in with $20. But that’s happened so infrequently. I think that infrequent nature is one of those things that helps people avoid developing a gambling problem or compulsive gambling problem.

I sort of view gambling as a spectrum, and as frequency goes up, the odds of problem gambling, in my view, increase dramatically. Again, this is just my observation. I don’t think that people can just dabble with it repeatedly without risk. The more that you dabble, eventually you’re going to have that substantial win.

When I say substantial win, I mean something where you win more than three times or five times what you came in with. For example, if you came in with $20 and you leave with more than $100—that’s a significant win. Anytime you take $100 and turn it into $500, our natural instinct as humans is, “That was really cool. Let me do that again.”

This is something I don’t want to see happen with my wife. I don’t want her to get onto the spectrum of problem gamblers. We already have one in the family—we don’t need any more. But I really think that if she had gone in, sat down with $20, and hit for $1,000, her current situation and how she views gambling would be completely different.

Right now, every time she’s gone with $20, she’s pretty much lost it. I think there was one time she left with $40 or $50, maybe at most up to $60 or $70. She’s never had those big swings up—that adrenaline rush or dopamine hit that really tests you and pushes you closer to the line of problem gambling.

If she had experienced a big win, she might have been pushed onto that spectrum where now she’s thinking, “That was really cool, I want to try that again.”

Casinos thrive on the concept of “house money.” I think many of us have gotten caught up in this in the past. If my wife went in with $20 and turned it into $1,000, she might leave—but maybe not. There would be that temptation: “If I lose $100 of this, it’s no big deal, because I’m still way ahead.”

The fact that I think she would do that shows that when that first substantial win happens, thought processes change. The person who walked in with $20 is now thinking differently because it’s “house money.” They’re willing to take more risk than they would have before.

I think we need to dig into this more and really study it because there seems to be a switch that happens after that first substantial win. It becomes the hook that pushes someone from being a casual gambler to being on the spectrum of problem gambling. It doesn’t happen all at once, but it starts the cycle.

In my case, it started small—$20, $40, $50. These amounts weren’t substantial at the time, but I had that big win, and I was trying to recreate that feeling. Eventually, the amount I was willing to put in grew larger because I wanted to chase that big win again.

This is why I get frustrated with gambling campaigns that say “gamble within your means.” You don’t have to tell someone who isn’t a compulsive gambler to gamble responsibly—they just do. You don’t have to tell my wife not to gamble more than $20, because that’s what she does naturally.

I think the danger is creating a narrative that some people can gamble responsibly while others can’t. I believe, given enough frequency and enough visits to a casino, anyone is bound to have that substantial win, and everything changes at that point.

The concept of responsible gamblers versus problem gamblers is, in my view, a dangerous narrative. It gives people the impression that they can safely dabble without understanding the risks involved.

Again, this is my theory and my gut instinct. After seeing so many stories and experiencing it firsthand, I believe I’m onto something here.

What do you think? Is compulsive gambling inevitable if you frequent a casino enough? Or is it more like alcohol, where some people can drink in moderation while others cannot?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Am I being a hypocrite because I had a problem with gambling, or am I onto something?

I’m sure this episode will generate more discussion than previous ones. This is a hot-button topic. Prevention campaigns and gambling establishments might say, “95% of people can gamble normally.” But I think that number is vastly different in reality. As I’ve mentioned before, I could hide my gambling problem. Almost everyone I know would think I’m in the 95%, but I’m actually in the 5%.

So, let’s discuss. Send me a message and tell me why I’m wrong. If you have data, I’d love to see it. Send it my way.

To summarize, my theory is that compulsive gambling is simply a matter of time. If you gamble frequently enough, eventually you’ll have that first substantial win, and that win puts you on the spectrum of problem gambling. The more you try to recreate that win, the further you fall into the problem.

What do you think?

**Now, before you go, I’d like to go over a few very important things.**

First of all, I think it’s important to remember that problem gambling is a treatable disorder. There’s no scientific evidence or study that suggests this is just a terminal condition or that we’re going to be forced to deal with the negative side effects and results of our actions for the rest of our lives. Recovery is real, but we need to seek out treatment.

That brings me to point number two: **Help is available.** Many states in the United States offer free counseling and therapy for not only gamblers but also family members. The best way to start finding out more information is to call the hotline number, **1-800-522-4700**. Again, that’s **1-800-522

-4700**. This number is run by the National Council on Problem Gambling and covers all 50 states. They’ll help guide you on the path to seek help in your area.

These hotlines aren’t just available in the United States—they’re available around the world. Just type “gambling help” or “gambling hotline” in your web browser to find information for your local area.

In addition to the hotlines, there are numerous places where you can find gambling support and information online. If you go to **gamblingstillsucks.com/help**, I list resources like chat groups, online forums, and other great information, and I’ll continue adding to it as I find more.

Again, that’s **gamblingstillsucks.com/help**.

**Disclaimer**: This podcast does not provide legal or medical advice. I’m not a doctor, therapist, or attorney—just a guy who had a gambling problem. While we’ll discuss a lot of topics and I’ll provide insight into what’s worked for me, please seek help from a professional. Visit a lawyer, doctor, or therapist to help you deal with your gambling problem.

The information discussed here is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional legal or medical advice. Reliance on the information provided in this podcast is solely at your own risk.

The music for this podcast is **Something Elated** by Broke for Free, licensed under the Creative Commons.