Lorrine Badcoe

Let's begin with a definition. What is gambling? Gambling is betting on an element that may or may not happen in the future. Once we gamble, we take a risk, choose an uncertain outcome, and bet on it. Gamblers bet on casino games, horse racing, and sports where the result can not be predicted with certainty. A lot of people will bet on anything. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Kramer bet on the arrival and departure times of airplanes at a brand new York City airport? How is gambling not the same as buying stocks and bonds? Stocks and bonds will be considered investments and not gambles because we can reasonably expect to come out ahead in the long haul. They may be risky but not within the same sense as gambling. How is gambling not the same as buying coverage? As we buy insurance coverage, we have been betting on an issue that may or might not happen in the future. We do not want to take the risk which it will happen, so we pay someone else (the insurance company) to take the risk for us. Once we buy homeowner's insurance, one example is we are betting our house will burn down as well as the insurance company is betting it won't. (Of course we hope we won't win this bet.) This is not gambling because the risk may be calculated. The insurance company uses all kinds of statistics to analyze the probability of our house burning down and fixes the premium we are going to pay accordingly. People have gambled since ancient times. On the flip side, society never approved of it since it was labeled an attempt to get money without working for it. Society thought that hard work should pave the way to financial success. It wasn't until the late 1960s that states (except for Nevada which had legalized all forms of gambling earlier) started to run lotteries to raise money for worthwhile causes. So why do we gamble even though we have been unlikely to win within the long haul? We gamble for the excitement of the uncertain outcome. Some gamble to attempt to make their financial dreams come true. Many people gamble for entertainment or enjoyment, for example a night out with friends at the casino online or possibly a bingo game for a charitable organization or a lottery ticket. Some think also they can beat the odds and make a living out of gambling. There are actually people who gamble while they simply love the challenge. They look-at gambling as a game of skill or problem solving and they are sure they can win. Some like the environment or perhaps the thrill of a possible big win, or the adrenaline rush of going for a chance. Casinos allow us to socialize and pass some time. You can find no clocks in a casino; we lose track of time; we forget all our troubles. It's like a therapy session! If we are timid, we will go to a casino and boldly take chances. Occasional gambling might be a relaxing form of entertainment but be cautious not to get addicted. Addiction may lead to obsession. You could lose control and become so fanatical you can ruin you life or suffer other catastrophic consequences. So if you gamble, make sure to set limits and keep to the limits you've got set.