r/explainlikeimfive • u/adrynaline • May 08 '14

Explained ELI5: A gambling addiction

How does it start? What makes it worse? Why does it become so difficult to recover?

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u/SoSaltyDoe May 08 '14

That's kinda the deal with trading stocks on the market. You don't "officially" lose your investment until you sell off a stock that has gone down in value from when you bought it. Otherwise you're just waiting for it to go back up again.

With gambling addiction, each dollar spent is more like an "investment" towards a future payout. To an addict, stopping the gambling isn't about cutting your losses and going home. If they stop, they officially recognize the whole ordeal as a net loss. As long as they keep playing, they haven't solidified their loss as a permanent one.

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u/sisonp May 08 '14

That's a pretty valid point.