Over the century, there has been an increase in gambling addiction. Players and fans of casino games don’t seem to know when to stop, or how to stop. Maybe they do know how and when to stop, but the idea of stopping looks like there is a gun to their head. They are not to be entirely blamed, the urge to play more games in the hopes to win more and covering losses seem to always overshadow all other reasoning. We cannot overemphasize the dopamine and other adrenaline that pop up through your veins when you play casino games. The thrill of instant rewards when you win has been compounded with the emergence of online casinos and their relevant features. Moreover, different online gambling houses like https://www.slotozilla.com/no-deposit-bonuses-australia offer a great variety of no deposit bonuses, which only add the desire to play and get winnings, especially without the need of first depositing. All of these add to a pleasurable game time that can turn addictive with players seeking the excitement to extreme levels. This article will be getting an explicit view on the following:
- Rates of Suicides in Gambling;
- History of Russian Roulette;
- The causes of suicidal gambling;
- Stories of suicidal gamblers;
- Solution to bad gambling habits.
Rates of Suicides in Gambling
The excitement derived from gambling can be taken to an extreme. In cases of total losses, debts, and the hope of nothing. Gamblers have resorted to seeing suicide as the only way out. Medical conditions like depression and gambling disorder can be a factor in the cause of suicide gambling. A study in England has recorded the death of more than 400 gamblers in 2020. Plus, we could expect that the pandemic and the lockdown would make a reduction in gambling addiction and disorders since the land-based casinos are locked away. However, the reverse was the case. Gambling disorder continued to occur in several individuals.
History of Russian Roulette
On the other hand, Russian Roulette gained fame among gambling enthusiasts. It is a game where people gamble with a gun over their heads. The history of this deadly game has not been traced with concrete evidence but we heard it originated from an 1840 fictional story that was called The Fatalist. The story was a part of various collections of stories written by Mikhail Lermontov. The writer tells a story of a man named Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin who placed a bet of about twenty gold pieces to challenge anyone who could gamble with a pistol on his head.
| Position | Odds |
| 1st shot | 16.7% |
| 2nd shot | 20% |
| 3rd shot | 25% |
| 4th shot | 33% |
| 5th shot | 50% |
| 6th shot | 100% |
Odds Of Being Killed In A Single Game Of Russian Roulette
The trick was in not knowing If the pistol Is loaded or not. A lieutenant, Vulic by name, took this challenge and he picked up a pistol to his forehead. As he cocked the gun, ready to shoot. The rule states that he would shoot the moment the card that was thrown into the air touched the ground. Vulic’s attempt to try his luck failed and he died from the bullet in the gun. Since the spread of the story, several groups of individuals have gambled with Russian Roulette and of course, many have died from it. Over the years, due to the devastating nature of the game, people have doubted how true the story is, and many have discarded it as a myth or a clever story to cover up murders. Many have even speculated that the game was a way captors and police play with the mind of their prisoners; especially for easy investigation purposes. Some people claimed it was a way prison guards made extra money by placing bets on their prisoner’s chances of surviving the bullet. The above speculations and more have not been proven with concrete evidence.
The Causes of Suicidal Gambling
Due to the high possibility of death, people tend to discard the validity of the game because no one loves to die. However, it turns out that people either loved to die or they loved the idea of getting richer if they didn’t die. You’d think Russian Roulette would vanish into the air because of its high risk right? Well, it seems people loved the idea of making huge money or dying. Several psychologists have blamed the increase in the playing of Russian Roulette on the innate instinct in man to want to take risks. Dying was not the excitement, the excitement comes from the possibility of not dying and the possibility of being some thousand dollars richer. It is then not surprising that to date, people keep playing the real Russian Roulette today.
Stories of Suicidal Gamblers
In 2008, there were fifteen records of death that were predicted to be from Russian Roulette. In 2018, a teenager from Oregon was found dead after playing the deadly game. However, studies have found out that people involved in Russian roulette and suicide gambling are mostly depressed people, people with a history of drugs and addicted alcoholics. Also, the high-risk Russian Roulette game is found mostly among black American gamblers while suicide gambling is common among white addicted gamblers.
The Solution to Bad Gambling Habits
These days, because of the modernization and technological advancement of casino games, deaths and murders around casino premises have reduced. However, the introduction of online payment of bills and bets has made it easy to access cash at banks, thereby, engaging in online gambling. As much as this has curbed unnecessary deaths by gangsters, this has also increased the rate of suicide, leaving the debts to be paid by close relatives or friends. Here are some listed solutions to gambling problems that could lead to suicide gambling.
Get Necessary Help
Last year, we heard of the death of a 23 years old trainee accountant who had jumped off the building of his workplace because he had gambled and lost his annual bonus and monthly salary. He was described as a lovely individual who could not stop gambling. This young man is not the only person involved in suicide gambling, several families met to discuss the loss of their loved ones and the effect it had on them. After the death of a young man called Jack in 2017, the Ritchie’s family founded a charity group called Gambling With Lives group. This group helps young people combat gambling addiction. Then it was estimated that more than two thousand gambling suicides are recorded each year.
Avoid Gambling Triggers
We were not surprised when families of gamblers who had died from gambling are calling for the reduction or the eradication of ads about casinos or casino games. Ads on social media and football games about casinos were asked to be called off. However, the government could only place regulations on gambling, and families were advised to protect the younger generation from the addictive grab of gambling. This can be done by avoiding unnecessary gambling triggers.
Conclusion
Death from gambling is not just an element of fiction, or from movie scenes that make you so at the edge of your chair. Suicide gambling and Russian Roulette do happen in real life. There are several testimonies of suicidal gamblers all over the internet. It is then important that players and game enthusiasts must pay attention to their mental health. Not only gamers, families, and loved ones alike should take a closer look at their gambling friends as they also get bereaved with grief.
However, we applaud the efforts of groups and organizations who take out time to initiate safe gambling and checks on the mental health of gamers. The responsible gambling feature on each online game is also commendable. We, therefore, look forward to a year that will witness the eradication of death from this game that we love so much. Both suicidal gambling and Russian Roulette are very much real. As much as we can say that the government and casinos should put strict regulations on gambling the behavioural pattern of individuals to gambling should be moderated.
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