This question isn’t as simple as it sounds. There are a full house of
reasons why we gamble, what we expect to get from it (yes, money, but there are
other things) and if it’s good or bad for us, and what we mean by good or bad
for us.Chance of success
It’s no surprise to hear that your chances of winning any chance-based game are very low. They are still reasonable when you consider your input, but for businesses to succeed - and, oh, they succeed - they need to be turning over a big profit, and to do this they make sure the odds are in their favour all the time.
So why do it then? If there’s little chance of winning then the chances are that it’s purely for fun rather than any profit. It can’t be denied that there has to be an element of fun in playing these. After all, they are called games and some of the more socially orientated games like mainstream bingo are for so little money that no one is in it for big profits.
Is hope a factor?
As well as fun there may be an element of hope for some people. With games like the lottery there’s often that feeling of not wanting to miss a week in case their numbers come up. Whether this is hope based on any real chance or complete false hope is a completely different matter, and it’s also hard to work out because, although chances of winning are 1 in 14 million, numbers hold no memory of chance, so that could reset or be shortened at any point.
What are the other chances of winning?
The chance of winning varies heavily depending on which type of game you play, but typically there is a strong correlation with the amount of cash and how likely you are to see it. Obviously Euromillions and the Lotto are at the higher end of that, with games like Bingo Cams and slot machines at the lower end, although, big wins are still available through bingo.
Games like hold 'em poker have an element of skill involved in them too, so that alters the chance of winning again. It’s impossible to determine the exact chances one person has without assessing the other players in this situation. Needless to say though, the better they are, the less chance you have of winning. So is it good or bad? This is a hazy line which people are always trying to define, but the generally held consensus is that any sort of gambling isn’t bad or an issue while it’s not being done in excess. This means that social games such as bingo, which tend to only happen once a week to encourage routine that isn’t over the top. This is a partnered post.
