Lottery Not as Addictive as Slot Machines

When choosing your form of gambling, it is best to stick with lottery, experts say. They say that for most people, the lottery is not as addictive as the slot machines are – simply because of the time it takes to find out if you are a winner. In that vein, scratch offs are more addictive than weekly drawings, just because you know right away if the ticket is a winner or not.

That does not mean that people won’t become addicted to them, it just means that it won’t happen as fast or as often. The Lottery, as a rule, does not cost as little as the slot machines also. You can play the slot machines for anywhere from a penny on up. Most lotteries are at least $1. Many are upwards of $20 or so per ticket, and for many that just isn’t worth it.

There are no real figures as to how many lottery gambling addicts there are out there, studies usually focus on slot machines and table games. However, the New York Council on Problem Gambling actually found that 40% of their calls in 2005 were from people who were addicted to the lottery or they had some sort of problem leading toward an addiction.

The DePaul Addiction Treatment Center in Rochester said that the majority of people seeking help from his agency are lottery gamblers. They found that some of them are gambling hundreds of dollars at a time, which makes it along the line of high stakes table games.

Experts say it is also easier to hide a gambling addiction because there aren’t tell tale signs like there are with drugs and alcohol abuse. They say that it usually takes losing everything before a slot machine and casino gambler is able to get help.


Back to February Archive or Slot Machines