If you’ve ever spent any time in a casino, you know the massive range of emotions that can come with it. The very environment you are in shapes how you feel more so than almost any other place you can go. Why exactly we enjoy the casinos is a complicated question, but there is more than a bit of science behind it. 

There are, of course, many scientific reasons why we enjoy casinos. There is a lot of complex psychology going on to explain why casinos make us feel the way they do. 

Let’s look at some of the fundamental science behind why we enjoy casinos. 

1. Brain’s reward system 

The simplest and most important reason why we enjoy casinos is to do with our brain’s reward system, and the chemical compound dopamine. Gambling, and more importantly winning, can activate certain centres of our brains that are associated with the same kinds of reward you might feel from being complimented, completing a job on the to-do list, or winning any game. When you achieve something that you wanted to achieve but felt like a task, or an obstacle, your brain sends neurotransmitter signals which stimulate neurons in your brain.

Studies into the effects of gambling show this is exactly what is happening. When you win a bet, your brain releases large amounts of dopamine comparable to certain experiences with recreational drugs.

This is also the reason it can become addictive. Most people are quite happy to take a couple of dopamine hits and quit—or even lose and cut their losses. Others find it harder to stop, and the dopamine release is what they are looking for. It’s a chemical addiction. 

2. Gaming the system

For those who utilise casino gambling as a means of securing an income, it can feel great in another way to convince oneself they are gaming the system and winning out. This is not to say this is never the case, and there are many who find ways to get the casino to work to their advantage. 

In any case, this sense of victory and having one up on the casino is another, separate reward for the brain which releases more dopamine. Equally, even if you feel you have a system but it is not working, people are often compelled to keep trying to make it work and secure that dopamine release. 

Often, the gambler’s fallacy fits into this, too. The gambler’s fallacy is the common belief that the chances of winning increase with each loss, since it must come around eventually. But this is untrue, and is again part of the reason some get into such trouble with it. Figures show just how much money casinos make, in part due to these fallacies.

Overall, though, gambling and gaming the system can make you feel very good—enjoying the casino experiences a lot more. 

3. Social experience 

A lot of figures show that many people who commonly go to casinos are otherwise lonely and isolated in their lives. Casinos, though you might not think of them in this way, provide a great means to get in touch with other people in a physical environment. 

Any table game will involve a certain amount of talking to other players, even if it isn’t direct socialising. Once everyone is done betting, there are any number of places in a casino they can go to talk. 

As much as anything, casinos provide a place for the isolated to connect with others. 

Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoData.io