Lotteries have traditionally been viewed as “soft” forms of gambling which are assumed to have few negative effects. However, that does not mean that this type of gambling should be passed over uncritically without looking at lotteries from a psychological perspective.
What has been clearly demonstrated from research ( “Lottery gambling and addiction an overview of European research”) evidence in other countries is that where accessibility of gambling is increased there is and increase not only in the number of regular gamblers but also an increase of problem gamblers. (Marcum and Rowen, 1974; Weinstein and Deitch, 1974; Skolnick, 1978; Kallick-Kaufmann, 1979; Cutser, 1982; Rosecrance, 1985). This obviously means that not everyone is susceptible to developing gambling addictions but it does mean that at a societal level, the more gambling opportunities, the more problems.
Key rules, which help to understand the psychology and irrational behaviour of a gambler, and also, why he doesn't learn from his previous experience:
Illusion of control — the expectation of success is more than the objective possibilities.
Flexible ascription — cognitive distortion, in result of which the winnings are attributed to own abilities and skills, while losses are attributed to different external circumstances. besides, the gambler considers his own losses as "future winnings".
Growth of possibility — the gambler believes, that the more he loses, the more is the possibility of winning. Accroding to this belief, winning is a usual, not a rare occasion.
One should approach the exceeding lottery playing as critically, as other types of gambling — any situation, in which people intentionally risk and bet for the purpose of getting a large sum of money, is gambling.
