There is a lot of research looking into the relationship between problem gambling and alcohol. It is clear from the research that problem gamblers tend to consume more alcohol than those that do not gamble. But the question of why do we drink and gamble is much deeper than just saying that both are vices that go together. It is not always an uneasy relationship between the two activities. There are well publicised benefits of drinking, and many people enjoy a social drink with their friends over a game of poker, for instance. Others bet on sports events and have a drink to enjoy it even more.
It really comes down to why we are gambling in the first place. If we are passing Friday evening watching a football match that we’ve had a bet on, then a few beers can further enhance the experience. If we are into online bingo sites and have friends round to play online on a Friday night then a drink is almost a must. If we are passing time playing poker then again a drink can make it more pleasurable.
Of course, problems do occur when we don’t realise we’re making bad decisions because of the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol makes us less risk averse and more likely to make impetuous decisions. We are more likely to go on “tilt”. When we start spending more than we can afford then it becomes a problem. Up until then the combination of alcohol and gambling can be a happy one.
In gambling we are making decisions all the time. We need to have full control of our faculties to function at our best. A game of poker is a game of skill where you are pitted against other players who are trying to bluff, scare or trick you into a bad decision. Even so poker is also a social game; perhaps even more so. It isn’t just the winning that counts but also the experience. There is a huge element of luck in most gambling and so you can still win whilst consuming alcohol and making bad decisions, you are just less likely to do so. If you understand that and are having fun then what is the problem?
The drinking/gambling relationship is probably also a function of when the activity is taking place. The highest peak times for gambling are the evenings of Friday and Saturday night. This is the time when most people wind down and enjoy after a busy week, with many conditioned to pick up a glass of wine whether they are watching a film, heading to the pub, hosting a dinner party, or gambling. The timing for drinking is changing for many on weekdays but it would also be interesting to see research on whether people drink alcohol to the same extent when they gamble during the week. This would be less socially acceptable and the answer would probably be that less alcohol is consumed on average.
So there seems to be a link between gambling and alcohol due to its capacity to heighten pleasure, reduce aversion to risk and increase sociability. The social acceptability, and habit of consuming alcohol at particular times may also be a causal factor in the combining of the two activities.
In a lot of research the so called scientists get mixed up between correlations and causality. Just because two behaviours are simultaneous does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship from one to the other. The simple answer to the question is that people drink when they gamble because it makes them feel. In that answer there is a lot of complexity though. Gambling and drinking doesn’t necessarily make someone feel ‘good’. The psychology is that our brains are made in such a way that the inhibiting effects of alcohol enhance our attraction to gambling. But there are lots of reasons why we see the two behaviours together.
