There is a debate on what motivates people to participate in gambling. There is actually no standard theory that can comprehensively explain why drives people to gamble. Gambling has both a positive and negative connotation which depends on the person perceiving it. The negative notion of gambling usually comes from the religious groups. The positive concept of gambling is justified by the effective entertainment it provides among gamblers which is a harmless diversion.
Some also classify gambling being a part of life. People are confronted everyday with situations where they have to gamble with a certain decision. Through gambling, a person may exercise their choices of taking the risk, to take their chance and to achieve what is at stake.
People asked what motivates them to gamble give varied reason for their motivation. The challenge that comes from gambling itself is a good motivation to keep a person from gambling. The prize at stake and the challenge to win it can make a person persuasive in their gambling activities. The money at stake is good enough motivation to gamble. With big cash prizes at stake, a gambler is more challenge to win the stake.
The fun and entertainment from gambling can bring excitement to a person filled with boredom. Gambling makes a person high spirited especially when winning. The challenge and excitement never end when gambling. And a person feels greater satisfaction every time they are able to surpass the challenger and achieve victory. There are some gamblers however depends too much form gambling to get excitement. They have progressed into compulsive gamblers who need psychological treatment. The occurrence of a compulsive gambler shows the deleterious outcome of uncontrolled gambling.
The most obvious motivating factor for gamblers is the possibility of winning instant cash money and prizes. Gambling is a form of business where money wagering can involve high amounts of money. And a person may instantly win huge amount of prizes at stake which requires less amount of time and efforts. Some gamblers even content themselves from the little prizes they can get out of their gambling activities in the form of complimentary and freebies awarded to gamblers in casino establishments.
The following demographic factors can also give an increased motivation among gamblers. Gender factor will tell that men are more likely to play high stakes games requiring skills such as blackjack and poker while women engage more in bingo games and raffles. People belonging to the upper social class are more motivated to engage in gambling because of their economic status in the society. Residents from big cities gamble more basically due to the influence of the gambling culture existing in their community.
It is worth noting that despite the many different reasons that motivate an individual to gamble, they should observe gambling in moderation in order to get all the benefits they believe to get from gambling without causing any complications with their usual activities and responsibilities to their self, family, work and the community.
