Buddy of mine just hit it BIG at some online casino last week ($5k on slots lol). He immediately cashed out and deleted the app. Says he has zero urge to go back.
Is he actually one of the rare unicorns who can gamble responsibly and walk away with free money? Or is this just the beginning of a very predictable and expensive addiction story?
My broke ass needs to know if responsible gambling is actually a thing or just casino marketing BS.
Comments
Not everyone who has gambled turns into an addict.
You can definitely gamble responsibly. Most financially responsible people aren’t usually seeking to gamble in the first place though.
“Know when to hold em, know when to fold em”
Gambling is rarely profitable.
Not everyone gets addicted. I hit 5/6 on a state lotto game back in 92. It paid off an amount that was $10 off what my fiancée told me that night would be the cost of our honeymoon cruise.
I haven’t played any lottery since.
I have gone to Atlantic City, Reno, Las Vegas a few times since – but I stick to a strict budget and I always walk or put winnings away when I can. I’m about even, maybe down $400 in 30 years / 25 visits for gambling.
I have friends who gamble all the time. One woman plays online slots was just doing her taxes and bragged to me how she “won” over $40k last year. I pointed out that the rest of the form pointed out that she actually placed over $120k in bets, but since a lot of that money was recirculated or promotion, she “only” spent about $65k to win that $40k. Others can’t go a week without placing some kind of bet on sports – even if it is only Jai-alai or tennis.
Most people gamble responsibly. You just only hear about the horror stories. The key is to assume you’ll never win and that the money you’re gambling is what you’re paying for entertainment. If you can do that and only gamble what you can easily lose, you’ll be fine.
Ask yourself one question:
“How much money can I afford to lose?”
Then you gamble with that much money. If you win, then that’s great. If you lose, then stop at the amount you said you could afford to lose. Do NOT keep going beyond that.
The stats don’t come from great sources, but let’s assume that 60% of adults in the US have gambled within the last year [1]. Assume further that In the US, In the 1% to 6% of the population are addicted to gambling [2]. If we assume these addicts gambled within the last year, then yeah, somewhere between 1/60 and 6/60 of the gamblers are addicts, so 10% or less of the gamblers are addicts.
Conversely, that means 90% of gamblers in the US fall under your categorization of “rare unicorns”.
As someone that has addictions to other things, but not gambling at all, yeah totally. I’ve never had an issue just walking out of a casino, either at a gain or a loss.
I’ve met lots of people who got into trouble with that
No. Not safe. If by safe you mean you’re more likely to win than lose.
Responsible gambling is however possible – for some. If you can set a budget and stick to it, then – sure. It’s a hobby like any other (that you PAY to participate in). But many can’t stick to a budget and it consumes them. Hard to know who you are before hand. Thus, the risk.
Know that you are going to spend money gambling… treat it like going to a show or visiting an expensive attraction. It is an activity that costs money (like skiing or seeing a live concert, or really whatever). Then, if you actually enjoy droning time away in casinos – there you have it.
Me? I’ll spend $150 on a broadway show. Better entertainment value for me.
I went to Vegas once, played at a $5 table at the Flamingo (RIP) for a couple hours and came out 25 or so dollars up. I saved that chip for good luck, but lost it.
The real story here is that while I was playing a woman in what was obviously a work suit sat down and dropped a stack of $100s and played those chips out in less than 30 minutes. She lost everything, and walked out like it was nothing.
Two extremes. Don’t be like her and you will be OK, probably.