A player who realizes their predisposition to ludomania sooner or later comes to the conclusion: “We need to finally stop betting.” But trying to realize the conceived idea, he meets a number of psychological barriers, which are extremely difficult to overcome only through willpower.
The reason for this is not the well-coordinated work of the subconscious (system 1) and consciousness (system 2). The Betwinner registration bookmakers are engaged in turning off the consciousness of the players from the moment they are attracted to the office.
Some Examples
For example, the desire to get easy money, under the “sauce” of certain emotions, activates in your subconscious mind a chain of actions associated with bets. In psychology, this state is called “priming”.
Bookmakers have their own algorithms for influencing the human subconscious. The longer the consciousness is turned off, the easier prey the player becomes. The activated consciousness (system 2) almost completely stops the work of the subconscious (system 1). You can understand this by simple experience:
When you go with a friend along a familiar street, ask him to urgently multiply 325 by 124, starting to solve this problem, he will stand still. The subconscious mind (system 1), which is responsible for moving through familiar terrain, will yield resources to the conscious mind, for which you have created importance with the word “urgent”.
Consider the situation, a person saw an advertisement on TV, where they say “Guess the outcome of 5 matches and win a million — for free.” At that very moment, his subconscious mind went into action, making associations like this:
- Free means no risk;
- 5 matches is not so much;
- And if I guess more, how much will I win?;
- If for 5 guesses they give a million, then maybe for 3 at least 100,000 will be given.
After a person has scrolled through these thoughts in his head, the task of the bookmaker’s office “to arouse interest in betting” has been successfully completed. The brain of the “potential client” has already set itself the goal of participating in this action. Moreover, he only aims to win!
In the event of a loss (and this is 99.9% of cases), the adrenal glands will release cortisol (stress hormone) creating a “dissatisfaction with the result” (serotonin pit) in the brain. Having not received the planned serotonin (hormone of happiness), the brain releases an increased dose of dopamine (the neurotransmitter of “increased purposefulness”).
As a result, under the influence of increased dopamine, the ventromedial lobe of the prefrontal cortex of the brain turns on (more on VmPFC in the article on losing bets), which is not able to calculate the logically correct decision and is subject only to emotions (in this case, the desire to win). The obvious end of this action is the loss and the beginning of the formation of gambling addiction.
How bookmakers make players unconscious
The unconscious actions of “system 1” among the players is the main goal of bookmakers. Understanding this, you can easily put the rest of the “equation” puzzles with which offices manipulate us:
- The “one-click bet” function simplifies the work of the player’s brain, removing the conscious component in the form of selecting the required amount for the bet.
- Bookmaker deposit bonuses have rules that must be followed: odds range, bet type, maximum bet size, and even sport. All this takes away the player’s choice, leaving him an insignificant part for analysis, which the “1” system can handle.
- Free bets and “no deposits” kindle the excitement in the player. Regardless of the result of the bet, the brain received a surge of hormones for minimal energy costs — addiction to the game occurs.
- The action “Return of all funds after a loss” gives the player confidence in win-win, thereby turning off consciousness. In case of loss, the returned money must be wagered according to the rules (again frames) that the bookmaker has set.
It is obvious that absolutely all actions of bookmakers strive to take consciousness (system 2) out of the game to the maximum.
How to include consciousness in the game?
The work of consciousness is very energy-consuming for the brain and it tends to turn it off. When possible, the brain gives the solution to any problem to the subconscious. Consciousness can be turned on if you set tasks that the subconscious cannot solve.
For maximum involvement of consciousness in the work, we recommend using the game algorithm, which you undertake to adhere to. It should not be monosyllabic like “I’m waiting for the coefficient to become 2, and the rest is according to the “feel”. You must eliminate as much as possible all the triggers that can shake you emotionally.
