Re: Economic Costs of Gambling

~snip~

But when you go to a restaurant and drink $ 100 wine (which costs $ 20 in a regular store), you also have no chance of getting a refund or even saving your money Wink

But a lot of people behave like this and it suits them, they consider such spending to be acceptable. I think the majority of casino visitors think the same - it's simple spending on entertainment, not dumb money.

I agree with that, most casino goers are just having fun, they can even spend money on drinks that are expensive just to enjoy their time in a casino, so there's nothing to complain about, we just need to change our mindset and consider gambling as entertainment so it will not hunt us and we are safe from getting addicted.

^ That is why we gamble on what we can afford because it is purely entertainment not your source of income. You guys, the example above was right, just like watching a movie in a theater, you will not entertain very well if you won't buy popcorn and of course, drinks which additional cost. Those people who are in addicted to gambling are just they are greedy because they gamble just to aim for money, and even though they can't afford it they will always looking ways just to continue their habit.

I would be very careful to confuse addiction with greed. It is well known that addiction can be a clinical condition. Now you could say greed, too, but the two are in no way to be confused with each other. You know, when there is this father of three who has a wife but just can't stop to gamble and loses his house and the whole family? In most of the cases I bet it has absolutely nothing to do with greed. Addictions are really really bad and usually need treatment more often, depending on the damage is already causes for that person. There are people who are addicted to stealing. Take this quote I just googled:

"Kleptomania is a recurrent failure to resist the urge to steal. In most cases of kleptomania, the person steals things that they don't need."

They aren't stealing because they are greedy. There is just an error in their head which they can't get under control or fixed. I see it the same way with gambling addiction. I admit though that maybe even greed could represent a kind of addiction in itself.