Gambling Research Library
Our psychology guides reference real, peer-reviewed research. This library holds the plain-language summaries — what each study actually did, what it found, and where its conclusions stop applying. Never exaggerated, never overstated.
Studies Summarized
The Illusion of Control
Langer's classic 1975 series of six experiments on why chance situations that resemble skill make people feel inappropriately confident.
Langer, E. J. (1975), J. Personality and Social Psychology
Read the summary →Near-Misses & the Brain
Clark et al.'s 2009 fMRI study showing near-miss slot outcomes recruit the same brain circuitry as actual wins.
Clark et al. (2009), Neuron
Read the summary →Gambler's Fallacy in Real Casinos
Croson & Sundali's 2005 field study using real casino footage to measure the gambler's fallacy and hot-hand bias outside the lab.
Croson & Sundali (2005), J. Risk and Uncertainty
Read the summary →Why We Built This
Most gambling-education content states psychology claims ("near misses trick your brain," "the fallacy is well documented") without ever pointing at the actual research. We think that's a trust problem — so every specific claim in our Psychology hub that references a study now links back here.