Wagering Creates an Illusion of Control

 The human brain is over-confident by default. For instance, the illusion of knowledge can give people the false sense of security concerning the daily choices they make, because the brain refuses to admit that they don’t know what’s obvious or are unable to make a clear-cut educated guess. 

This confidence is furthered by the illusion of control that wagering games offer players or the belief that you can use skill to influence the outcome that’s strictly based on chance. As such, it could take higher risks, and thus gamble at high stakes casino slots. 

Also, the expectation of sudden luck can provoke a gambler to place a single high bet. All in all, individuals oftentimes gamble more if they trust they’ve got some control over the result of a game.

Psychologists reveal 2 key contributors to the gambler’s illusion of control: personal choice and near misses. The illusion of control is influenced by the concept of personal choice.

In circumstances where the gambler is let to actively arrange the gamble, for example, rolling the dice on the craps table creates an illusion that the player is somehow exerting a skill to influence the result of the game which is certainly random.

Near misses is evidenced in many types of gambling, and can be defined as being too close to the jackpot, but missing the win.

For example, being one digit short of winning the prize or the horse you bet on coming second.  Medium frequency of such occurrences instills confidence in players to keep wagering in the hope that victory is near, and a false impression that they’re sharpening their skills with their near-wins.

Almost similar to the illusion of control is the “gambler’s fallacy.” Essentially, gamblers think that the odds of a future outcome are upper based on previous performances. This is a fallacy as it’s not true. 

Why do people gamble? The gambler’s fallacy. To illustrate, take the roulette as an example.

The fact that you bet on red again and again is no guarantee that you’ll win at some point, as the chances of landing on red or black are 50/50. No matter the color a ball previously landed on, it does not influence where it will land next.

According to the gambler’s fallacy, bettors will most of the time increase their wagers through a game, thinking that they’ll end up winning big. Instead, even if they end up winning, it doesn’t cover the losses incurred during the game.