Gambling is one of the widespread forms of addictive behaviour, one that can cause some people to keep making risky decisions whether they are doing well or doing badly, sometimes requiring bespoke individual therapy to exit a potentially damaging habit.
The criteria under the DSM-5 for the behavioural addiction diagnosis of gambling disorder is similar to other addictive behaviours, including a preoccupation with the subject, increasing stakes, withdrawal symptoms and lying to finance this habit, often with serious consequences to their life.
It can be difficult for people on the outside looking in to understand precisely why people will gamble to the extent that they lose everything, especially since, statistically, gamblers playing against a casino will eventually lose everything, a concept known as gambler’s ruin.
Whilst most gamblers have different motivations that keep them playing, one of the most common behavioural patterns is a Catch-22 situation where a player will feel they have to keep going when they are losing money, but also at the same time feel they need to keep going when they are winning.
The gambler’s conceit, described by David J Ewing, is a two-part fallacy that becomes a psychological trap for many players caught within it because of the logic involved.
The basic construction of the trap is that most gamblers want to play until they have, throughout a session, made more money than they had going in, often described as quitting whilst they are ahead.
This is the justification to keep playing even after accruing heavy losses, sometimes to the point of playing beyond their initial stake, which is described in the DSM as “chasing losses”.
However, even if a gambler ends up on a winning streak, they will have no incentive to actually quit whilst they are ahead, believing in either skill or good fortune and wanting to keep going.
This logical trap is not the only part of this addiction, with casinos, bookmakers and online gambling apps providing incentives to high-rolling players, such as providing free drinks and services.