What does gambling do to your brain? Mostly it triggers a dopamine response, and it eventually causes the part of your brain that feels pleasure to become numb – requiring ever-larger hits of dopamine to feel good. A Brain Chemical That May Cause Gambling Addiction, or Bankruptcy Feb 21, 2012 11:43 AM By Christine Hsu A player checks his cards during the finals of the Russian Masters Poker Cup in the casino at the Azov-City gambling zone, some 90 km (56 miles) south of Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don, September 23, 2010. What happens in the brain of a person who is addicted to gambling? Numerous studies in psychology, neuroscience, and genetics has proven that gambling and drug addiction are, in fact, a lot more similar than previously thought. As addiction develops in the brain, the brain changes. According to Dr. Charles O’Brien, a key contributor to the DSM-5, research shows that “gambling activates the reward system in much the same way that a drug does.” Obviously we’re not neuroscientists, but the findings make sense. We all get a rush from gambling. This rush is caused by dopamine being released by the brain.

How Gambling Changes Your Brain
How Does Gambling Change Your Brain
How Gambling Affects Your Brain
What Gaming Does To Your Brain

Gambling can be extremely exciting. Much of the excitement comes from putting your money on the line and having the chance to win big.

It also doesn’t hurt that the gaming world is filled with plenty of entertaining games. Slot machines, baccarat, blackjack, daily fantasy sports, poker, roulette, and sports betting are just some of the popular gambling activities.

But it’s important to realize that not all of the thrills come from huge wins and games alone. Instead, a brain chemical called dopamine produces much of this euphoria.

As you’ll find out here, dopamine can actually be a bad thing with regard to gambling. Therefore, you want to consider steps to lower this chemical if you have a problem. Keep reading as I discuss more on dopamine along with ways to decrease it.

What Is Dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that carries messages between brain cells. It plays a role in our motivation to do many things, from what we eat to our preferred forms of entertainment.

Like any neurotransmitter, dopamine shuttles messages across the brain. These messages bind to docking-station molecules called brain receptors. The receptors relay messages they receive from dopamine to neighboring receptors.

The two parts of the brain that create dopamine and other neurotransmitters are the “substantia nigra” and “ventral tegmental.” Both of these areas are smaller than a postage stamp, but they greatly influence our everyday actions.

Dopamine from the substantia nigra area controls our speech and movements. Dopamine from the ventral tegmental goes to the brain and serves as a reward for various actions.

If you eat a delicious piece of cake, the ventral tegmental’s dopamine convinces your brain that it’s worth having another slice.

This chemical can unfortunately reinforce undesirable practices. You know that cake isn’t good from a dieting perspective. However, the dopamine-induced reward can overpower your logic and cause you to eat more.

At this point, it seems like the neurotransmitter is largely bad. But dopamine also plays an important role in motivating you to accomplish goals too.

You may feel euphoric after finishing a difficult workout or coming up with a great dining plan. These two are examples of dopamine rewarding your brain for positive accomplishments.

It’s important to have a healthy level of this neurotransmitter so that you maintain the motivation to carry out daily tasks. Too much dopamine, though, can cause you to develop risk-taking behavior.

Possessing too little of this chemical leaves you lethargic and unmotivated to get off the couch. This is a joyless state called anhedonia that some would consider even worse than being a gambling addict.

How Does Dopamine Cause You to Gamble More?

Dopamine is essentially what reinforces you to carry out specific behaviors again and again. It prompts you to choose between a greasy hamburger and healthy salad.

You’re likely to do whatever your dopamine is pushing you towards. The same is true of gambling, which offers its own set of rewards.

The biggest gaming reward on the surface is that you can win money. Nothing is more exciting than going on a hot streak and raking in thousands of dollars in a single session.

Of course, you don’t have to get hot and win big just to experience the thrill of gaming. Winning a few rounds here there can also motivate you to keep playing.

It’s important to realize that these wins are reinforced by dopamine. This neurotransmitter begins transporting messages after every successful round.

Feeling good about winning wagers is perfectly normal. However, a key problem arises when these rewards keep coming during losing sessions.

Here’s an example:

Bob is playing roulette and make even-money bets.
He wins a $100 wager and feels good (bankroll at +$100).
He loses three $100 consecutive bets and is sad (bankroll at -$200).
His next wager wins, and he’s pumped up (bankroll at -$100).
Bob’s following two $100 bets lose (bankroll at -$300).
He wins the final $100 wager and leaves a happy person (bankroll at -$200).

Looking at this progression, Bob only won three bets and lost five. He quit his gambling session with a $200 loss.

Logic says that he should feel bad about the session. However, Bob doesn’t feel too down, because he won a few wagers and left after the final win.

Dopamine doesn’t use logic when it rewards our brain. It reinforces certain events, even when they’re not good in the long run.

How Gambling Changes Your Brain

What Are the Potential Dangers of Dopamine Triggered Gambling?

The bad thing about dopamine is that it can make you feel out of control when gambling. Again, it doesn’t account for logic when reinforcing behaviors.

This fact can lead to a number of gaming related problems. Here are the biggest potential pitfalls you need to watch out for.

Betting More Money Than You Should

The obvious downside to dopamine overload includes the temptation to bet more money. You likely have a strong idea on how much you can afford to lose in any session.

Of course, it’s hard to stick to a plan when you’re constantly receiving mental rewards for a win here or there. You may eventually think that it’s alright to keep trying for that next win, even when you’ve had a terrible session.

Many gambling addicts have feelings of guilt and think that they’re terrible people. However, there’s also a physical element at play here in the form of dopamine.

You don’t even have to be an addict in order to feel down about your gaming. Simply having one or two out-of-control sessions can leave you depressed for a while.

Playing Longer Than You Should

How Does Gambling Change Your Brain

Losing money and gambling too long often go hand in hand. The casino holds an edge in almost every situation, which means you’ll probably lose more money by playing longer.

Of course, the sessions where you do win big profits are sweet. But you need luck on your side in order to beat the house advantage.

Gambling should always be looked at as a form of entertainment, rather than a way to make money. The only time you can consider gaming a job is when you’re an advantage gambler (e.g. card counter) or can beat a player-vs-player game (e.g. poker).

Other than these instances, though, you don’t want to spend hours in the casino. Unfortunately, dopamine can make you suspend time and continue making bets.

Seeking New Gambling Thrills

It’s always best to gamble within your means. For example, you don’t want to place $1,000 wagers when you’ve only brought $2,000 to the casino.

The problem with dopamine, though, is that it can lead to seeking risky behavior to experience new highs. Many dr

What Gambling Does To Your Brain