A historical look at gambling, “erroneous cognitions”, and gamblers’ motivations

Erroneous cognitions in gambling, a relatively recent discovery, are now considered an important element shedding light on the behavior of problem gamblers. This text reflects on this novelty, even though misconceptions about randomness among gamblers had already been pointed out as early as the sixteenth century. This situation stems from the difference between two perspectives on gambling, presented here: one focused on the meaning of gambling, the other on the mechanisms of excessive gambling, based on an economic view of gambling.