The whole allure of gambling is predatory by nature. Your handing over money for nothing more than hope. The rational mind can analyse the chances of winning and work out in all reality your not going to get what you want and therefore just walk away. But gambling isn't designed to pray on the rational mind it's the vulnerable that it goes after. The people who hope more than they think. And there are plenty of people like that otherwise gambling would not be such a big business. The trouble with the rational mind is that in most cases it cannot empathise with the irrational mind and therefore can't see the problem for what it is.