Probability
Which of the following is LEAST likely to happen to you?
A. Winning the national lottery
B. Being hit by lightning
C. Dying from a flesh-eating disease
A. Winning the national lottery is the correct answer (and least likely)
Your odds of being hit by lightning this year are 1 in 330,000.
Your odds of dying from a flesh-eating disease are 1 in 1,000,000.
U.S. Powerball provides odds of 1 in 146,000,000.
Canada’s national lottery (6/49) gives odds of 1 in 14,000,000.
Which of the following is the BEST definition of gambling?
A. Gambling is risking money on a random or unpredictable event.
B. Gambling is risking property on a bet.
C. Gambling is risking something of material value on an activity with an uncertain outcome.
C is correct!
Gambling does not have to involve only money.
You gamble any time you risk anything of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome in hope of winning additional money or material goods.
Gambling can be as addictive as drugs or alcohol. Is this statement true or false?
A. True
B. False
A. True - It can be as addictive as drugs or alcohol.
Some people become seriously addicted to gambling and suffer from intense personal, social, and financial problems as a result.
Which of the following is often considered the “crack cocaine” of gambling?
A. Roulette
B. EGMs (electronic gambling machines, such as slots)
C. Blackjack
D. Betting on horse races
E. Poker
B. EGMS (electronic gambling machines, such as slots)
While all forms of gambling can be addictive, EGMs are especially addictive because of their rapid speed of play.
You can place an EGM bet every six seconds.
This is similar to drugs, in that quick-acting substances that are taken frequently (such as vapes, nicotine) tend to be the most addictive.
Of the following types of gambling, which one usually results in the greatest losses per thousand dollars spent?
A. Roulette
B. Instant win tickets
C. Bingo
D. Slot machines
B. Instant win tickets
If we were to bet $1 a thousand times, we should expect to lose:
$53 if betting on roulette
$80 if betting on slots
$350 if betting on bingo
For instant win tickets, however, we should expect to lose $450!
Being able to pick your own lottery numbers, as opposed to having them randomly chosen for you, slightly increases your chances of winning.
A. True
B. False
B. False!
This statement is false.
Your chances of winning the lottery are the same whether you choose your own numbers or they are randomly generated.
The most popular type of gambling worldwide is . . .
A. poker
B. bingo
C. lotteries
D. instant win tickets
E. slot machines
C. Lotteries
In almost all countries, people engage in lotteries more than any other form of gambling.
Suppose a gambler loses $100 at the casino on Monday, then loses another $100 on Tuesday. He decides to go back to the casino on Wednesday with another $100, as he is confident he can win back all his money. This person is…
A. chasing his losses
B. hedging his bets
C. coveting his wins
D. banking his chips
A. Chasing his losses
One of the signs of problem gambling is that people repeatedly return to try to win back what they have lost. This is called “chasing losses.”
Which age group has the highest rate of gambling problems?
A. teenagers and people in their 20s
B. people in their 30s
C. people in their 40s
D. people in their 50s
E. people 65 and older
A. Teenagers and people in their 20s
Young people have the highest involvement in most risky behaviors, including gambling. The current young generation is also the first in several generations to grow up in a period of widely available legalized gambling
Most people who win the lottery:
A. have a permanent improvement in their happiness.
B. are happier than normal only for about a year.
C. eventually become less happy than they were before they won the lottery.
B. Are happier than normal only for about a year.
In general, increased wealth usually only produces a temporary improvement in happiness.
On a certain day, 80 percent of the births in a hospital are boys. Which type of hospital is this likely to be?
A. a small hospital with only a few births each day
B. a large hospital with hundreds of births each day
C. It is equally likely to be a large or small hospital.
A. A small hospital with only a few births each day.
The more times something happens, the closer the result will be to the expected odds (or average). It would not be unusual for 4 out of 5 births to be male, but it would be very unusual for 80 out of 100 births to be male. This is called the “law of averages.”
Most casinos make most of their money from . . .
A. Blackjack
B. Slot Machines
C. Roulette
D. Food and drinks
B. Slot machines
In most countries, about 75 percent of casino profits are from slot machines.
(This differs in some Asian countries (for example, China) where casino table games generate most profits.)
Which type of slot machine would likely keep people playing the longest?
A. One that usually gives a big win early on and gives occasional small wins thereafter.
B. One that gives many “near misses” all the time but very few actual payouts.
C. One that gives a small win fairly often but almost never gives a large payout.
A. One that usually gives a big win early on and gives occasional small wins thereafter.
When early big wins are followed by occasional rewards people are most likely to continue playing. Most problem gamblers experience a
big win early on.
Which one of these people has the MOST risk factors for developing a gambling problem?
A. a female smoker who occasionally bought scratch tickets as a child
B. a female smoker whose friends gamble
C. a male nondrinker who has never gambled
D. a male smoker who won $100 the first time he bought an instant win ticket
D.
Of all the people described, this person has the most risk factors. There are many risk factors, including an early big win, being male, being in one’s late teens to mid-20s, having problem-gambling parents, having friends who gamble, gambling at an early age, and having other addictions. Person D had three of these risk factors.
Which casino game can you reliably beat, over a long period of time, if you use the right system?
A. Roulette
B. Dice games
C. Slot machines
D. None of the above
D. None of the above
At a casino, the odds are against you with all games. There are virtually no casino games that you can reliably beat over a long period of time (without cheating).
Suppose you flip a coin 15 times, and it comes up heads every single time. On the 16th flip, what are the odds it will come up as tails?
A. 1 in 100 (or 1 percent)
B. 1 in 16 (or 6 percent)
C. 1 in 3 (or 33 percent)
D. 1 in 2 (or 50 percent)
E. 1 in 1 (or 100 percent)
D. 1 in 2 (or 50 percent)
It is a gambling fallacy to believe that past history affects the odds on the outcome of a random event.
The odds of getting tails is 1 in 2 (or 50 percent) every time you flip the coin, regardless of past history.
Which of the following is false?
A. Aztecs used to gamble at patolli.
B. The Romans' favorite type of gambling was the “hand game.”
C. China used lotteries to help finance the Great Wall.
D. Native Americans had a long history of gambling before the arrival of Europeans.
B.
The Romans liked gambling on gladiator contests, chariot racing, and board games. The “hand game” was (and still is) a favorite of Native Americans.
Many problem gamblers gamble to manage stress and avoid problems.
On a piece of paper, jot down 3 things you might do, other than gamble, to manage your stress and deal with your problems.
(You need at least 3 to get all the points)
If you want to manage your stress and confront your problems, there are many alternatives to gambling.
Some of the more effective options include
socializing with friends
exercising
talking about your problems
keeping busy with things that make you happy
being yourself
being positive
Why is it fair to say that all students in this room are at some risk of gambling problems?
-all the students in this room is a teenager
We all try our best to always make good decisions, but sometimes we encounter obstacles or issues that cause us to make bad decisions instead.
On a piece of paper, identify three issues that often cause us to make bad decisions.(3 are needed to earn points)
There are many factors that might cause us to make bad decisions:
acting impulsively a lack of time
a lack of information
peer pressure
stubbornness
apathy (we just don’t care that much)
Which of the following lottery number combinations has the lowest chance of being picked as the winning combination?
A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
B. 12, 24, 25, 38, 40, 48
C. 3, 9, 17, 19, 22, 24
D. All of the above are equally unlikely
D. All of the above are equally unlikely
Because each lottery ball has an equal chance of being selected, any series of numbers is just as likely or unlikely as any other series.
Approximately how much money do U.S. and Canadian adults lose to the gambling industry each year?
Write your guess on a piece of paper. The team closest to the actual number wins.
$100 BILLION!
Problem and pathological gamblers often display a number of symptoms.
On a sheet of paper, list three symptoms of problem gambling. (You need 3 to receive points)
Symptoms vary, the person might be:
preoccupied with gambling
• “chasing” losses
• having difficulty cutting back or stopping
• irritable when trying to cut down or stop gambling
• lying to hide involvement with gambling
• gambling to escape from problems or bad moods
• committing illegal acts to pay for gambling
• relying on others for a bailout from gambling debts
• gambling with increasing amounts of money to get the same excitement
Name 5 factors that increase the risk of developing problem gambling. (At least 5 are needed to receive points)
being in your teens and twenties
being a male
started at an early age
have close access to gambling opportunities
friends who gamble.
parents who are frequent or problem gamblers
Having other addictions means a person is prone to other addictions (Problem gamblers have high rates of alcohol use and drug use).
Having an early big win
Playing rapid forms of gambling with a high frequency
not understanding how commercial gambling works like: the house edge, the law of averages, other gambling fallacies
Difficult controlling impulses
Mental health conditions
Take a moment to think about the difference between a good bet and a bad bet.
On your answer card, jot down the three main characteristics of a good bet. You need all 3 to receive points.
The best gambles or bets are those in which:
1. The odds are clearly in your favor
2. You stand to win something of significant value
3. What you could lose is something you can afford to lose.
When a gamble is missing two or more of these characteristics, it's usually a bad gamble.