No lady luck: Gambling near-misses can be addictive

William Atkins
Tuesday, 17 February 2009 20:10

Science - Health

Dr. Clark added, "By linking psychological and neurobiological accounts of gambling, these data inform our understanding of gambling behavior within society, and by extrapolation, the capacity of gambling to become addictive and pathological." [News-Medical.Net]

The U.K. researchers concluded in their paper, “These data indicate that near-misses invigorate gambling through the anomalous recruitment of reward circuitry, despite the objective lack of monetary reinforcement on these trials.”

That is, even though a “near-miss” does not reward the gambler with money, they are strengthened in their desire to continue gambling.

It is similar to a feeling that they didn’t quite win but a true monetary win is almost within their reach--if they will only try one more time!

Or, a second time, or a third....

To learn more about gambling addictions, go to Gamblers Anonymous and HelpGuide.org’s website “Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling.”

The Gamblers Anonymous website asks the question: How can you tell whether you are a compulsive gambler?

It answers, "Only you can make that decision. Most people turn to Gamblers Anonymous when they become willing to admit that gambling has them licked. Also in Gamblers Anonymous, a compulsive gambler is described as a person whose gambling has caused growing and continuing problems in any department of his or her life."

"Many Gamblers Anonymous members went through terrifying experiences before they were ready to accept help. Others were faced with a slow, subtle deterioration which finally brought them to the point of admitting defeat."