In 2020, the online gambling market reached a staggering value of over USD66 billion. This means the online gambling industry is not only one of the most fastest-growing but also one of the most profitable alongside the real estate, insurance, and finance, social and health care, automobile, and global gas production and exploration industries that collect billions in revenues every year.
The iGaming industry is in the top ten fastest-growing industries only behind the seal and coastal transportation and truck manufacturing industries. According to recent reports done on the industry’s growth in five years from 2016 to 2021, its average growth is set at a 2.1% rate. In these five years, many positive changes occurred with several major markets opening more to the opportunities that the industry offers.
International gaming venues
One of these changes is the establishment of gaming venues in numerous locations including Singapore and Macau which has boosted the growth of revenues in Asia. Recently, numerous online casinos became operational in the US iGaming market as well. As estimated, over one million people are employed in the industry while almost five thousand businesses operate.
None of this would be possible without loyal casino gamers and avid sports bettors, and they are the main driving force behind the industry’s tremendous growth. Further, we take a look at several major reasons why people enjoy gambling. From this source, you can learn more about the psychology of gambling, the gamble’s fallacy, and different social aspects of gambling.
Why people enjoy gambling?
According to the latest studies conducted in 2021, over twenty-six percent of the total population in the world engages in some form of gambling activity. This means that over 1.6 billion people across the globe gamble with Australia having the most gamblers followed by Singapore. In the United Kingdom, thirty-two percent of the population gamblers once a week at least.
In the United States, over eighty-five percent of adults have engaged in some form of gambling activity once while sixty percent of them have gambled in the past year. Canada is famous for its quite liberal gambling laws also have a huge gambling scene with over seventy-five percent of its population engaging in some form of gambling. According to the statistics, New Zealand, Germany, France, and Japan have the most online gamblers. The main question is, why do people gamble? Further, we take a look at several crucial reasons.
- Chances to win big
- Opportunities to solve financial issues
- Online sites are easily accessible
- Enjoyment and fun
- iGaming marketing efforts
- Escapism from everyday life
The most crucial reason why humans enjoy gambling is to win big money. Many gamblers if not most of them have that specific mindset of taking home the life-changing jackpot or winning huge amounts of money. With this mindset, people who enjoy gambling activities get easily overwhelmed while gaming, and more often than not they end up investing more and more money to support their dreams of winning big. Gamblers are also often motivated by real-life stories of individuals who have won large prizes.
Naturally, with the mindset of winning big, these success stories make them more optimistic about their future and their winning opportunities. Gamblers are also seeking that high and thrill that comes when they are winning and even if they are losing, they are blinded by those dreams of jackpot wins. Winning a jackpot would most certainly change their lifestyle and this is what keeps them depositing more.
However, it is important to remember that gambling can easily lead to addiction, which can be very dangerous. In such cases, professional counselling is the best way to help avoid disaster and get back on the right track, which in such cases means avoiding gambling altogether.
Other common reasons why people gamble
Many people gamble for entertainment and recreation reasons. For these people, gambling activities are an excellent option to cure boredom, socialize with others, and avoid loneliness. For these people, engaging in gambling activities is a hobby and even when they lose, they come back and resume playing for thrill and excitement. Most people with a lot of free time who gamble, turn to gambling activities for these reasons.
Then, there is that socializing factor. Since many enjoy collaborative, not-so-competitive activities, engaging in gambling activities with others makes a perfect social activity. Some also want to be part of certain groups, and gambling can easily create that feeling of belonging. Some gamblers turn to casino gaming or sports betting to deal with their everyday life situations and negative feelings. In order to forget about emerging negative feelings that come from everyday life, they turn to gambling.
Today, when online gambling sites are so easily accessible, people can gamble anytime from anywhere. The presence of easily accessible, readily available iGaming sites has made it extremely easy for interested individuals to engage in gambling activities of all sorts. Add to this numerous media advertising campaigns that promote bonuses and promotions and show ordinary people who won huge amounts of money from gambling, there will be more gamblers sharing the same aspirations.
Helen Bradfield did her degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She has a particular interest in mental health and well-being.
