The History of Gambling - Essay Example

Gambling Jason Stuk Baker College Gambling How often we hear of the word gambling but not many of us are aware of the history of gambling or how people cannot resist gambling. We take gambling as an activity or a hobby mostly but its dangers are known to everyone. It cannot be a hobby because it is a destructive activity. The perils of gambling are not limited to the person who is indulged in gambling but the whole society can be affected through gambling. The dangers of gambling should be known and only then people can be made to stop this activity. The legalization of gambling all over the world has also made it within reach of the common man. This has aggregated the gravity of the problems caused by gambling. Gambling should actually be banned all over the world due to the dangers it pose to society. In this essay a discussion will made on the history of gambling and how it became famous. Also elucidation upon the perils of gambling and how people cannot resist gambling will be made in this essay. History of Gambling The history of gambling is very interesting. In ancient times through religion man tried to predict the future and different rituals were used in order to achieve this aim. The beginning of gambling and its tools can be traced to religious customs in early pre-historic societies. Pagan rituals had a purpose of foretelling the future or explaining what was beyond comprehension of general public (History of Gambling, 2011). The practice of the rituals was uncomplicated and consisted of throwing small objects like pebbles, sticks, nuts, arrows etc. out of the palms of the hands or any primitive container (Sifakis, 1990).. The result was checked to see if the number of the things on the floor was even or odd. Even number usually meant a positive outcome and interpretation and odd stood for a negative one (Sifakis, 1990). After that the same sort of chance-based practices expanded into lives of everyone. “Gambling grew out of religious rituals into a separate activity, which helped with decision making process like who will get a better piece of a killed prey or get himself a better looking woman” (History of Gambling, 2011). The final step in the process of evolution towards pure gambling happened when people decided to gamble by putting their own stakes for the sole purpose of material gains. Human beings have this inner tendency to try to know about their own future. They have this inner craving to know what will happen in future. Religious rituals provided people with an opportunity to know about their future. Divinity therefore is considered as the source of gambling in this world. Origins of Gambling can also be traced to the games that people played to spend their free time. The first human society dates back to 7000 BC. This is considered the first time since people settled in an area and developed a society (History of Gambling, 2011). In order to pass the times different sporting activities were invented and board games were one of them. People started to gamble in board games in order to make the game thrilling and interesting. Money became involved in many forms (like food, watch etc) in these games. This is how modern day gambling was born. Gambling became popular in coming years and different innovations came in gambling with new chance based games and slot machines invented. Different card games were developed and people started to put money on their victories. The thrill and the sensation that is involved in gambling is the main reason why this game is popular throughout the world. Lottery is one of the first commercial forms of gambling. Governments use it to raise money for its expenditure and people in hope of winning money started to invest in lotteries. The present form of institutionalized gambling became popular in 1800s in the United States of America. This was the start of legal gambling and since then it has become more and more popular. Initially it came under attack from the religious school of thoughts and it was categorized as immoral. But with the passage of time these attacks decreased and gambling spread like wild fire in United States as well as in other parts of the world. Today in most countries gambling is legal. Why people cannot resist Gambling? So far we have explained the history of gamble and how it has evolved from religious rituals. In this section we will explain why people find it hard to resist gambling. People who gamble regularly become addicted to it and find it very hard to stop themselves. Men and women both find themselves as reluctant to stop gambling when they become addicted to it. People lose their whole fortune their life’s income while betting on a stupid game but still they come again in casinos to gamble. The reasons for this will be explained in this part of the essay. Gambling actually allow people to think that they can win more. Human beings have this inner tendency to readily accept future possibility that favors them. They ignore the fact that they have an equal chance of losing as well but possibility of wining forces them to risk more and more. We human beings are not always rational and when it comes to predicting the future we cannot do so in a dispassionate manner. Human sentiments and feelings show humans a picture of the future that is favorable to him. That is why we find many optimistic people in casinos who believe that their luck can make them rich. This unfounded optimism is a driving force that causes addiction to gamble in people (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004). One of the reasons identified by psychologists for gambling addiction is that people want thrill in their lives and they enjoy being at the edge of their seats (Leider, 2009). People want to escape their monotonous lives and enjoy the thrill that gambling has to offer. The attraction of people towards gambling is because of their slow moving personal lives. Industrialization has added monotony in human life and not all of us today are working in places where we get the chance to innovate and think out of the box. Gambling therefore provides people a way through which they can break their normal routine and enjoy the thrill and the excitement gambling has to offer. Addiction to gambling also increases when a person starts to lose more. When on a losing streak the idea that their luck will change constantly lure people to bet more. We human beings need a belief that the future has something good to offer and this drives us in our lives. Without this feeling life will become a suffering and nothing more. Gamblers see a bright future in the next round or in the next card, and this makes them addictive (Gibson & Sanbonmatsu, 2004). Perils of Gambling The claim that gambling is a sport that should be allowed is ludicrous. First gambling is not a sport; it is an activity that does more harm to a person and the society than good. Sports provide relaxation to people but gambling actually damages the health of the gambler. The second thing that gambling should be allowed is also naïve as people cannot be expected to behave in a rational manner. It is true that casinos and other gambling businesses do not force people to come and gamble but they implicitly offer rewards to their customers that they will never get. These arguments make it very clear that gambling should not be allowed as it is dangerous for the society. People who suffer from gambling addiction sooner or later lose everything and this forces them to seclude from their family and friends. After losing their money their self confidence is destroyed and they are not able to justify their action. This makes them more prone to depression. In this depression they are not able to work properly and their personal life gets destroyed. How can one call gambling a sport when it destroys a person’s life and makes him fall in depression? Gamblers usually have a risk taking behavior therefore they are more prone to smoke and drink (Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta. 2004). Most casinos sell drinks to their customers which motivate them to gamble more. Risk taking behavior increases when a person is using drugs so many bad things comes with gambling itself. This is another danger of Gambling that it makes people addictive of drugs and alcohol. People who are addictive to gambling can also turn to steal in order to fulfill their addiction and this makes them dangerous for society as well. It is very difficult for an addictive gambler to stop gambling even after he or she has lost all his or her money. They can easily turn to illicit activities just to fulfill their desire to gamble more. Don’t forget that they have this inner belief that they may win in future. This makes them dangerous for the society as well. Criminals also use addictive gamblers for their own good. They finance their addiction by giving them loans and when they cannot pay back these criminals force them to perform illicit activities. Gamblers are always in need of money therefore they can fall prey to these criminals. This is another peril of gambling. Today millions of people are addictive to gambling in countries where gambling is considered legal (Choueke, M. 2007). These people are looking for professional help and this shows how dangerous this addiction of gambling is. People who gamble eventually lose everything therefore it should be banned immediately. Conclusion Gambling has been a sport that has amused people for hundreds of years. Religion has a lot to do with the sport of gambling as it gave people a way to predict future. Gambling plays on the psyche of people by deluding them that they can win. The idea that fate will favor them motivates people to spend more and more. Gambling is perilous in nature because it badly affects the health of the gambler and makes him prone to drugs and alcohol. Also gamblers can steal in order to satisfy their addiction and can also fall in hands of criminals. For these reasons we conclude that gambling should be banned all over the world. References A History of Gambling. (2011). Progress Publishing Co. Retrieved from http://www.crapsdicecontrol.com/gambling_history.htm Choueke, M. (2007). Nearly a million addicted to gambling. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563236/Nearly-a-million-addicted-to-gambling.html Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta. (2004). The Prevention of Gambling Problems in Youth: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18(2): 97-159 Gibson & Sanbonmatsu. (2004). Optimism, Pessimism, and Gambling: The Downside of Optimism, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(2): 149-160 Leider, P. (2009). Women Addicted to Gambling. CBS News. Retrieved http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/09/earlyshow/main1385963.shtml Sifakis, C. (1990). Encyclopedia of Gambling. New York: Checkmark Books Read More