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The Number Games: A Gambling Paradigm

  • Writer: Scraper
    Scraper
  • Apr 30
  • 4 min read

The Numbers Always Go Up, Until They don't.


For the longest time, I only saw gambling as a game. A numbers go up dopamine hit. It felt detached, cold even, Until I started observing the real costs. The moments where a stupid bet wrecks a week's paycheck, or watching someone's entire mood crash because of a bad roll on a fantasy cricket app.


Person tossing dices in their hands.
Credit: lil Artsy

At first, it felt harmless, and maybe for some, it stays that way. But what I've seen working behind the scenes at Alpha Healing Center, and what I've felt personally, is that gambling isn't just a game. It's a behavioural trap that works on the same neurological pathways as substance use. Losses might not smell like booze or pills, but the devastation? It's eerily familiar.


If It's a Just A Game, Why Isn't it Stigmatised Similarly?


Everyone has witnessed one or other form of gambling by now. For me, it's always a dumb little side quest, never personal and never deep, always certainly stupid. But that's not the full picture. Around me, I started noticing people, even A listers, betting constantly. Some were hiding it. Some were flaunting it. But the compulsion? It was clockwork.


And suddenly, it was giving the same energy as substance addiction.


The American Psychiatric Association officially classifies gambling disorder as a behavioural addiction, with brain activity nearly identical to that of cocaine users. (Source: NIDA.gov)


In places like Alpha Healing Center, we've seen clients, some younger than 25 arriving for help not with drug withdrawals, but from months of constant betting, hidden debt, and collapsing mental health. It's no longer just slot machines and casinos. It's in our pockets. It's live during every cricket match. It's gamified. It's normalized. and it's bleeding people dry.


Matches, Apps; More Like Capitalism On Steroids.


Betting ads have invaded broadcasts like it's no big deal. Download this app, bet on your favourite team, Win big, sell your soul to the devil and yet, under the surface, people keep spiraling.


It's not just unethical, it's predatory.


What we're obversing or rather aren't is capitalism weaponized through UX design and dopamine mechanics. Whether it's Dream11, MPL, or international apps bypassing Laws, they all function like digital slot machines dressed up as fantasy.


The Ethics? Questionable at best.

The Govt? Enabling it more than regulating.

Is it an addiction still? Brother what are we even doing here.


Call It Dumb Money


Raised on the internet, On fast rewards, lived through vine's lifespan. We saw this coming. Loot Boxes. Twitch dopamine. 3 Section Retention Hook? Bugger off. And still wondering gambling feeds right into that.


According to the National Council of Problem Gambling, Young adults aged 18-24 are 2-3x more likely to develop gambling problems than older adults. Why? Because gambling in 2025 doesn't look like vegas. It looks like fantasy cricket apps with influencers, UPI payments, and a few quick swipes that even a toddler will be able to do.


What Recovery From Gambling Looks Like - At It's Best


At Alpha Healing Center, I've seen a rise in behavioural addiction cases, including gambling. But most treatment centers in india? They're barely scratching the surface. They still operate like it's 2004, focusing only on substance withdrawal.


Alpha's approach is different:



The Goal isn't just to stop the behaviour. It's to untangle the need that created it.


Why Gambling Doesn't Get Taken Seriously (Yet)


Part of the reason gambling isn't seen as a real addiction is simple: It's not illegal. So, the stigma doesn't match the harm. Families treat it like a moral failing or a silly habit, not something that deserves structured interventions


And yet, people at Alpha Healing Center often confess that shame held them back from recovery more than the addiction itself.


The Silence is deadly. We don't talk about it, because we think if it doesn't look like drugs or alcohol, it's not that serious, but it is.


Call It What It Is


If we want to make a dent in gambling addiction, we need to start calling it what it is. We need to drop the pretentious buzzwords and start talking like humans. This Isn't about people being dumb or weak. It's about systems, financial, digital, psychological. That depend on people losing. And then blaming them for it.


Recovery isn't just abstinence. It's unlearning shame. it's learning how to feel something other than the high of a win. It's taking space to heal.


I've worked with enough people, through testimonials, therapy sessions and creative expression, to know that addiction can be treated. But only when we stop laughing it off.


Button; Big Bets


Since nothing happens without a label. So, What is gambling? A Disease? A Game? A Scam?


Maybe it's all of the above. But one thing should be pretty obvious, if folks continue treating it like a harmless hobby, we're letting too many people spiral within. Gambling doesn't have to ruin lives, but unchecked, It will. Recovery, at places like alpha healing center has shown what's possible when we mix neuroscience, art, and compassion into care. Not judgement. Not shame.


If you or someone you know is within the spiral of gambling compulsion, there's a way out always, take the step. Visit Alpha Healing Center to Start your New Game.

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