“I Know It’s Wrong, But…” — Chasing the Thrill of Gambling

The Chunichi Shimbun Morning Edition, May 19, 2006

The Dream Jumbo Lottery is now on sale. Many people dream, “If I win first prize, I’ll build a house and travel the world.” For habitual gamblers, such fantasies of striking it rich are part of everyday life.

The 1989 American film Let It Ride, starring Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, portrays the true essence of gambling.

The protagonist is a taxi driver who loves horse racing. Though he has been losing money chasing longshots, he happens upon an insider tip. Trusting it, he bets his entire fortune, declaring, “If I lose this, I’ll quit gambling”—and wins. From that point on, a wave of good luck begins. Despite the fact that horse racing is a game that involves analyzing a horse’s ability, condition, and race strategy, he starts making huge bets for illogical reasons—like “the horse winked at me”—and keeps hitting the mark.

He even gains access to a prestigious club within the racetrack, where the wealthy gather. But the gentlemen he once admired there don’t look very happy. On the contrary, his penniless friends and his wife begin to shine in his eyes. Then comes the fateful final gamble…

This film lets you experience the thrill of gambling vicariously, hand-in-hand with the protagonist.

Gambling is a rush where you can win—or lose—large sums of money in an instant based on your reasoning, bluffing, and courage. This experience stimulates the brain’s pleasure center and craving for novelty. And it’s that very thrill that can lead to gambling addiction. Even though you know there’s no such thing as an easy jackpot, you can’t stop. You begin seeking even stronger stimuli. The mindset of “I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help it” reflects a psychological pathology linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

That’s why gambling should be limited to just a few times a year or perhaps once a month, something you can afford with your allowance. Immersing yourself in highly addictive worlds like pachinko or mahjong—where you might hear things like “I won 100,000 yen in a day” or “I lost a million in three days”—can lead to personal bankruptcy or even the collapse of your family.