Gambling has often been associated with addiction and crime throughout history. This has left mainstream society with the impression that gambling only leads to bad things.

But the truth is that this activity isn’t all bad. In fact, there are some distinct benefits you can gain from gambling.

The most obvious perk is entertainment, because people play casino games and the lottery for fun. Gambling provides unique thrills that few other hobbies can match.

Apr 21, 2014 Top 10 Reasons Why Gambling is Bad. Article by lipika bhattacharya, April 21, 2014. Gaming when illegal is called gambling. This is the most crude and layman definition of the vice which involves wagering of money or something of material value. May 19, 2010 Like all addictions, a gambling addiction can tax you mentally and physically, but compulsive gambling also takes another huge toll — a financial one. Compulsive gambling is a slippery slope.

Of course, many people are aware of gambling’s entertainment side. But research shows us that there are other benefits that not everybody knows about.

May 15, 2019 Gambling has probably existed as long as humanity. Fast forward to today, and most of the modern countries indulge in this pleasure in one way or another. However, just like you can overdo any other activity to the point of it being harmful — gambling is more or less the same. Why Is Gambling Often Continue reading 'Why Gambling Is Bad'.

I’m going to discuss some research-backed reasons why gambling is good for you. I’ll also cover several other benefits that it provides.

1- Gambling Improves Your Health

Nobody thinks that playing a blackjack hand or rolling craps dice will have any positive impact on your health. After all, you’re barely burning any calories through these activities.

But research reveals that gambling does have a positive effect on your health

Through a study appearing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Yale researchers showed a positive correlation between recreational gambling and improved health.

Gambling Is Bad For Health Benefits

Rani Desai, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, and her colleagues conducted interviews with 2,417 adults on their health and gambling habits.

She and her team compared the health of people who gamble versus those who don’t. The team measured health by levels of past or current alcohol use, substance abuse, depression, mental health treatment, general health, incarceration, and bankruptcy.

What Desai ultimately found is that gamblers have fewer instances of bad health indicators in comparison to non-gamblers.

“Although the underlying reasons remain hypothetical, proposed reasons included the increased activity, socialization, and cognitive stimulation that are related to engaging in gambling,” Desai noted.

“Such a mechanism would be consistent with the literature on healthy aging, which indicates that more socially and cognitively active elders are, in general, healthier.”

Desai and her team didn’t determine a reason why gambling leads to better health. She said that the study results could indicate that healthier people enjoy gambling.

Either way, it’s clear that gambling doesn’t always induce the stress that’s commonly portrayed in movies and TV shows.

2- Gambling Makes You Happier

Dr. Mark R. Dixon, a professor and coordinator of the Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program at Southern Illinois University, conducted research on gambling’s effect on people’s happiness. And the results, which appeared in the Research in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, show that this hobby gives people more joy.

Dixon’s team had nursing home residents engage in different forms of gambling. They then used a 4-component analysis to measure happiness against the baseline.

The team discovered that the participants’ happiness levels increased when gambling versus the baseline. The baseline measurements, which included everything from sitting alone to watching television, had zero levels of happiness.

Those participating in the study played blackjack and 5-card stud poker. And the researchers determined with certainty that players got enjoyment out of both games.

Note:

One catch is that the participants weren’t betting real money.

But at the very least, Dixon’s research reveals that casino games themselves give people satisfaction.

3- You Learn Skills and Apply Them

Most people don’t look at gambling as a learning experience. But it actually is when considering the goals and strategy involved.

You must learn how to play any new casino game that you try. And some of these come with complex strategy that must mastered.

Blackjack is one game where you need to know a combination of rules and strategy. Here’s a quick synopsis of the rules that players need to learn.

Players receive two face-up cards
Dealer receives one upcard and one face-down card (North American rules)
Player can hit, stand, double down, or split (with a pair)
Player wins if their score is closer to 21 than the dealer’s score
The bet is a push if both hands tie
Dealer or player will “bust out” if they go over a score of 21
Player or dealer have a “natural blackjack” if their first two cards equal 21
Player receives a 3:2 or 6:5 pay-out on their original bet with a natural blackjack
Player isn’t supposed to touch their cards (live blackjack)

Reasons Why Gambling Is Bad

Learning the rules is only the first part of blackjack because you should also study strategy to improve your chances of winning. And you can use either a blackjack strategy chart or online trainer to better your skills.

Blackjack isn’t the only skill-based casino game, though. Let ‘Em Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker, sports betting, three-card poker, and video poker all give skilled players a better chance to win.

Poker is the ultimate casino challenge because you’re competing against human opponents. Unlike a house-banked game that’s played against the casino, optimal strategy changes based on whom you’re playing against.

An Example

A simple example is if you’re playing heads-up against somebody who goes all-in on every hand.

Perhaps you normally like to play a small hand range and will fold the majority of your cards. But this instance calls on you to play a wider hand range to take advantage of bad decisions that your wild opponent is making.

Studying gambling strategy and working through various situations are skills that go beyond the casino tables.

4- Gambling Promotes the Use of Math

Most people don’t like the thought of doing math. But improving your math skills can be fun when including an entertaining casino game.

Most forms of gambling involve mathematics to some degree. This can be as simple as deciding how much your slots bet will be worth to working out detailed poker odds.

Here’s a simple math situation that involves playing slot machines.

You’re playing a slot machine with 50 paylines
You can change your coin size from $0.01 to $1
You don’t want to bet any more than $1 per spin
A $0.01 coin size means you’ll be risking $0.50 per spin
A $0.02 coin size means you’ll be risking $1 per spin

Here’s a more complex example involving poker pot odds, where you use math to decide whether a drawing hand is worth calling.

A pot is worth $70
Your opponent bets $10
The total pot is now $80
You must call $10 to stay in the hand
Divide 10 by 80 to find out what percentage you’re paying
Your pot odds are 12.5%

The next step is to figure out hand equity and “outs,” or the number of cards that will complete your drawing hand.

You have an open-ended straight draw (i.e., 5-6-7-8)
8 cards will complete your straight (four 4s and 9s)
This gives you 8 outs
A common hand equity formula is: [outs x 2] +1 = equity
[8 x 2] + 1 = 17
Your hand equity is 17%
You should call, because you