There seems to be a lot of talk about "gambling addiction" in the world these days.

I don't know enough about "gambling addiction" to talk about it in depth, but I sometimes wonder if there is a strong psychology of behavioral economics at work in "gambling."

The psychology is "mental accounting," as described on this page.

I am a chicken-hearted person who says, 'If I don't finish what I worked on that day, I don't feel comfortable.

Therefore, in many cases, "I can't stop working (mainly coding) even after midnight" → "My brain can't rest" → "I can't sleep" → "I fall into insomnia.

I feel that the psychology of 'wanting to recoup gambling losses' in gambling is similar to my behavior above.

The case under discussion is a considerable sum (over 600 million yen) for an individual, but it is a different story for organizations.

One example I remember is the case described in the paper here: a bank or trading company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange committed fraud totaling $1.1 billion (96 billion yen at the time), or approximately 68.2 billion yen.

Of course, I think the psychology of 'wanting to recoup losses from gambling' is one aspect of 'gambling addiction,' and there are various other factors (and the environment in which gambling is possible in the first place).

However, I can at least understand that it must be tough to live with such losses hidden.

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I am an engineer unloved by money, and I spend my days anxious about money, but I still think it must be a lot easier than the anxiety of a gambler (+ hidden debt).

I feel a little "lucky" to be an "engineer not loved by money" -- really, just a little bit.