Do you like betting or gambling?

Introduction.

It’s an interesting piece of psychology finding out which term some folk prefer to use, do they consider themselves to be betting or gambling people? Quite often the term people apply to themselves regarding that question will be determined by how they perceive themselves socially. Certainly in western cultures, a professional person will usually see themselves as a gambler whereas other people will often refer to themselves as being a person that ‘likes a bet’. These two cultural stereotypes arise from the definitions applied to the words betting and gambling; and to our interpretations of them.

Modern definitions of betting and gambling.

Modern day definitions of the two words run something like this. Betting - is to risk your money against another persons’ money on the outcome of an event that can’t be predicted, or is at least a doubtful event. Whereas, Gambling - to play a game of chance for money, a risky undertaking. However, Gambling can also now be strictly defined as - taking a great risk to secure a great result as in a war or high finance project etc. So it is quite easy to see how according to our modern day definitions of betting and gambling one of the terms has connotations of virtual hopelessness whilst the other is couched in almost noble terms. 

Historical definitions of betting and gambling.

The first truly acknowledged dictionary of the English language was, of course, Samuel Johnston’s work of 1775. So we can’t really go back further than the 18th century for any reliable definitions that are acknowledged as ‘English language’ rather than regional sayings. As soon as you read 18th century definitions of betting and gambling you can immediately see a distinct reversal in the way the two terms were interpreted. In the 18th century a Gambler was - “a knave whose practice it is to invite the unwary to game and cheat them”. That was Johnson’s definition of a ‘gambler’; he goes on to say that the term gambler is a ‘cant’ word for a gamester who would almost certainly be a vagrant or a vagabond! (The word ‘cant’ is thought to have derived from ‘quaint’.) Contrast that with an 18th century definition of a bet or wager - “to risk or stake (an amount or a possession) on an uncertain outcome.” It would seem in the 18th century that a gambler will be some sort of base and untrustworthy person, whereas anyone ‘having a bet’ is merely indulging in a bit of fun.

Bet gamble

Whilst Samuel Johnston’s definition of a gambler is undoubtedly colored by his own perceptions of morality and sobriety; the fact remains that over a period of time the concepts of betting and gambling have almost become polarized from their original meanings. This is partly due to the fact that language is constantly evolving and changing, but it is also a reflection of how society sees and judges both itself and others. In reality their can be little difference between someone taking a financial risk that a horse will win a particular race compared to another person taking a financial risk that one football team will beat another. Both are subject to unknown influences and ‘chances’ that make the possibility of any one certain outcome - an impossibility. However, it’s a fact that horse-racing; the “Sport of Kings”, has people gambling on it - whereas you will just about only ever be invited to ‘bet’ on the outcome of a football match. Similarly, a finance company would not be impressed with one of their traders ‘betting’ that a particularly risky investment was worth while, yet they would accept that it would be a gamble. Why, well quite simply because the dictionary says so - a high stakes risk is a gamble - a noble and worthwhile risk to take. Unfortunately, according to the dictionary - a bet’s just a bet, just a risk with nothing potentially noble about it!

What will you do next time - place a bet or a gamble?

So, next time you put some money on a ‘chance outcome’ take a moment to think if you’re placing a bet or a gamble; it could well mean you think about the stake you’re about to place and whether it’s just a bit of fun or not.