User:Gmaxwell/gambling downrating

Why I downrate gamblers

I down-rate known gamblers in the OTC WOT because I do not trust them and would avoid trading with them without additional security.

There are two primary reasons:

• It is my personal observation that gamblers are vastly over-represented in the regular scammers on OTC: Virtually all users who have been conspicuously identifiable as gamblers have turned out to be or become scammers. Many fit a pattern where they borrow at insane interest rates to gamble, then pay back if and only if they win and then gamble away the rest then ask for more. Eventually they lose and run off with a debt unpaid. The boom and bust cycles of gambling can make past behavior a weaker predictor of future behavior. Regardless of the reasons or causative direction there is appears to be a strong correlation between gambling and scamming.

• Pure gambling— as opposed to games of skill that involve some chance— is an economically irrational behavior. Someone who engages in this activity may be more likely to be otherwise financial irrational in other ways. They are also more likely to be suffering from mental illness or extreme mathematical ignorance. These all make them less trustworthy as traders.

Unless I otherwise noted, a person I've given a -1 [Gambling] to is only being distrusted because I am aware of their ongoing participation in gambling. You shouldn't automatically distrust them because of this, but should factor it into your overall decision to whatever extent you believe that it is relevant.