What do people actually feel when gambling with motives other than purely financial? What do they get out of it? My take is that they are feeling in control of their fate, even if only for very brief moments. Simply put, that they are not losers, and luck is on their side, at least sometimes. Indeed, we all know that this feeling is fleeting and false overall, but it is so nice and pleasant that we are ready to pay for it, up to a point where we get addicted to it
I don't think it's realistic to say that when you gamble you are in control of your fate, the fact is you are not unless you are a high caliber gambler, the dice or the card and the house edge is in control of the game and it's your choice which is based on guess and luck will get you the outcome, you are not really in control because you are hoping to win
Feeling in control and being in control are different things, and I made that distinction clear in my post. Most of us are fully aware that we are far from being in control of virtually anything in real life, let alone pure chance. It just happens that gambling gives us what we would feel if we really were. When we win, we feel like winners and conquerors, right?. For fuck's sake, we are the winners over the fate with luck by our side at those moments even if they are as fleeting as April sunshine