The first time I dabbled in gambling on the Internet, I was 18 years old. It was a famous YouTuber’s video showing how online casinos work that piqued my curiosity. In the process, I bet 20 euros on a game of chance, “roulette”, in theory prohibited in France but easily accessible in a few clicks. I did this just to see, thinking that with any luck the winnings might at least pay me for my next kebab. Except that in a few minutes, I went up to 300 euros…
You have to imagine what this sum represented for the student that I was at the time: it was enormous! I had just taken out a loan of 35,000 euros to pay for my first three years of study at a private design school in the south of France. And I lived on a budget of 200 euros per month for food, transport and outings. In short, like all students, I was not rolling in gold.
But “smarter” than the others, and a poor statistician, I tell myself that if with 20 euros I had won 300, by betting 300 euros directly I might perhaps reach 4,500 euros, and so on. I might start repaying my loan, and buy my car more easily following my licence… Young people can be sensitive to this promise of easy money.
The next day, during a morning class where I listen absolutely nothing to what the teacher says, glued to my mobile, I quickly lose all the money earned. Then I continue the following days. It keeps me busy during my long hours of public transport to reach my place of study. I bet small amounts (5 euros, 10 euros, even a few cents sometimes), taking care to prepare a sandwich in the morning to save some money for my new hobby.
This continues until I realize that I have spent all my monthly budget, intoxicated by the rapid succession of losses and gains, frustration and excitement, very common with this type of gambling. Nothing serious: I drastically reduce, for the first time, my outings and my meals – “only until the end of the month” I think then.
Play to “recover”
But at the beginning of the following month I play once more and lose my monthly 200 euros in one day. We’re going to have to regain that quickly… The second addiction mechanism then sets in: I no longer play for pleasure, curiosity or easy money, but to “recover myself”. I convince myself, moreover, that I can more or less control my luck: “there are three columns, I only have a one in three chance of missing my bet”, “statistically, if I double my bet on the color boxes, I can’t lose”, and other nonsense…
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