KFLCC Kingdom Economics

F INANCIAL S ECURITY IN THE L AST D AYS

Here are some statistics about Americans and gambling:  85% of the people in America have placed a bet at least once  2.5 million Americans have a gambling addiction  Casinos make $30 billion and lotteries make $17 billion a year  Those making under $10,000 play lotto three times more often than those making $50,000, although gambling in general occurs more often in high income households (72%) versus lower income households (55%)  Teens: 42% of 14-year-olds, 63% of 16-year-olds, and 76% of 18-year olds gamble  When Atlantic City set up gambling, the crime within a 30-mile radius increased by 100%  Americans have spent $500 billion on wagers (bets)  Families who have a family member with a gambling addiction have higher rates of domestic violence and child abuse You have a better chance of being struck by lightning on a clear day, and at the same time be hit by a car and having a heart attack, than you do of winning the big lottery. Yet it is the few stories of unexpected wins and overnight millionaires that hook multitudes into spending needed money to get that winning number. Recently, one man withdrew $30,000 of his life savings to purchase tickets, just to increase his chance of winning America’s biggest lottery. He won nothing. Gambling is the proverbial “thrill of the chase.” Once a person does occasionally win at a slot machine, black jack table or some other form of gambling, the addiction is set and the mind tells them that if they spend more, they will win more. The fact is, machines at the casino are set against your favor and not for your benefit. Often they state huge amounts of money they have paid out, without telling you the massive numbers of people who took chances and spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. Compulsive gambling is an addiction that feeds the same pleasure areas of the brain that are fed with pornography, drug addiction and such. Dopamine is released in the brain at the possibility of winning. Some suggest that lower levels of serotonin in the brain can cause a person to be at higher risk for pathological gambling. If you continually think about gambling, seek out money to gamble, and cannot resist buying scratch-off cards when in a convenience store, then you have the symptoms of addiction.

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