Understanding Gambling Risks

Gambling sites are recommended to let their players understand the risks of gambling and gaming. That’s why Dewatogel posts on their website various risks associated with gambling and gaming.

Understanding Gambling Risks

Any type of gambling can become addictive. Nevertheless, the various types of gambling pose different risk potentials.

For example, there are addicted lottery players, but the risk of addiction from lotteries is significantly lower compared to other games of chance. The hazard potential of slot machines, on the other hand, is much higher. For example, around 73 percent of people who go to an addiction counseling center because of their gaming behavior are slot machine players.

The high-risk potential of slot machines has also been statistically proven. The risk of pathological – i.e. addictive – gaming among users of slot machines in amusement arcades and restaurants is 6.3 times higher than with other types of gambling. This factor is 5.0 for poker, 4.7 for sports betting (excluding horse betting), and 4.1 for slot machines in casinos (each compared to other types of gambling).

The following evaluation factors help to assess the risk potential of the various types of gambling. It is crucial which factors apply to the type of gambling and how pronounced they are in each case.

Read also: Observe gambling law for games

Factor 1: Rapid succession of games or events

A fast game sequence ensures a special thrill when playing. If the outcome of the game is determined in a matter of seconds, losses quickly disappear from view. Because the prospect of the next game and thus the next opportunity to win is only a few seconds away. Anyone who gets involved in the “hunt” for the next win has usually already lost automatically!

Factor 2: Short payout interval

With a short time interval between the start and end of the game – and thus the payment of the winnings – the money won (or the equivalent value in chips) is quickly available and is used again directly by many players.

In slot machines, for example, the amount won is paid out immediately. In a lottery game, on the other hand, there is usually a longer period of time between the start of the game and the availability of the prize money. A short payout interval also fuels the “hunt” for the next win and thus contributes to the addictive potential of a game of chance.

Factor 3: Active role of the players

If players are actively involved in the game of chance – for example by pressing stop or risk buttons or playing cards – this suggests the possibility of influencing the outcome of the game. The fact is, however, that the outcome of a game of chance depends largely or even exclusively on luck or chance. This also applies to types of gambling where information or certain prior knowledge can increase the chances of winning (sports betting or stock market speculation).

Possibilities of influencing such things increase the addictive potential of games of chance. Many people overestimate their own playing skills or events develop differently than is likely, for example, the bottom of the table wins against the leader of the table.

Factor 4: “Almost Wins”

If, for example, two symbols are displayed in slot machines instead of the three symbols required for a win, or the roulette ball lands directly next to the neighboring number of your own bet, many players do not perceive these events as a loss, but as an “almost win”. This increases the hope for some that there will be a real win in one of the next games. Such an assumption is fundamentally wrong because a past game result (the “almost win”) has no influence on the outcome of a future game.

Factor 5: The amount of profit

The possible amount of winnings is also a factor in assessing the risk potential of a game of chance. Examples include the jackpot in the lottery or the high winnings in casinos.

Factor 6: The type of bet

With smaller sums of money, tokens, or payment options by credit card, it is easy to lose track of the sums that have been gambled away. The form of the stake also contributes to the potential for addiction or risk in a game of chance.

Factor 7: The availability of gambling

Many types of gambling are easily accessible to players, such as online gambling or slot machines in pubs and arcades. For people with problematic gambling behavior, the high availability of their gambling poses a constant challenge not to follow the urge to gamble. In the case of gambling addicts, the venues, for example, the local pub or the amusement arcade around the corner, become so-called “triggering stimuli” that can evoke the desire to play a game.