Human evolution influences gambling decisions: study

New research led by a McMaster University professor may help explain why problem gambling can beso difficult to treat.

Associate kinesiology professor Jim Lyons led a team of international scientists who looked at how evolution, or basic survival techniques adapted by early humans, influence the decisions gamblers make when placing bets.

For the study, recently published inFrontiers in Psychology, scientists from McMaster University, the University of Lethbridge and Liverpool John Moores University examined how gamblers made decisions after they won or lost.

They found that, like our ancestors, the gamblers relied on their past experiences to predict what might happen in the future.This isknown asgambler's fallacy, Lyons said. But in games of chance where the outcome is completely random, this strategy doesnt work.

"If you are tossing a coin and it turns up heads five times in a row, we have this strong feeling that it will turn up tails on the sixth try," he explained. "But the chances are still exactly 50-50."

Lyons said that strong feeling could be explained by the way evolution has hard-wired our brains.

"If you go hunting in one area, you won't want to go back because presumably there is nothing left," he said.

May help with treatment

The findings may help to explain why some treatment options for problem gamblers often dont work.

"The results of our work suggest, perhaps for the first time, that certain aspects of problem gambling behaviour may be related to hard-wired, basic neurobiological factors related to how we direct our attention," Lyons said.

Next, the team plans to examine how this sort of behaviour may change as we age, since evidence suggests problem gambling can be particularly acute in the elderly.

However, Lyons cautioned the research is preliminary and can't beused to predict whoismore predisposed to developing a gambling problem.

Gambling to expand in Ontario

The research comes asseveral Ontario citiesdecide whether to expand gamblingthrough new casinos or the expansion ofexisting gaming sites. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is looking to add five new casinos in a strategy to modernize gambling in the province.

• RELATED:Hamilton casino coverage

In Hamilton, city council is still considering the idea of a new casino in the downtown core, or adding more gaming at Flamboro Downs.The discussion hasinvolved available research on problem gambling.

In December 2012, Hamilton's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson presented a report to council that indicated higher concentrations of problem gambling occur in areas surrounding a casino. She also made suggestions about how a casino could mitigate those negative effects, for example by limiting operating hours, among other recommendations.

In the meantime, Flamboro Downs has reached an agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) to continue operating its slots for the foreseeable future.