Aim <p>Gambling can afford a range of personal benefits to those who gamble, but can also pose significant risks, with gambling-related harm increasing alongside gambling risk severity and gambling engagement. While prior research has established a strong relationship between gambling severity and harm, the role of self-perceived gambling-related benefits in moderating this relationship remains underexplored.</p> Subject and methods <p>Utilizing self-report data from 1535 Brisbane gamblers, we examined whether perceived gambling-related benefits influence the association between gambling risk severity and harm, as well as between gambling engagement and harm.</p> Results <p>We found that gamblers who perceive greater benefits from their gambling report more gambling related harm. Consistent with prior research, higher gambling risk severity and gambling engagement are each associated with greater gambling harm, and self-perceived benefits amplify these relationships, although the amplification effect was small. A stronger effect was observed among gamblers with higher gambling risk severity and among infrequent gamblers.</p> Conclusion <p>These findings suggest that perceived benefits contribute to the maintenance of gambling behaviors despite adverse consequences, aligning with reinforcement-based models that explain problematic gambling. The results highlight the potential role of cognitive dissonance reduction in sustaining gambling engagement. Understanding these mechanisms can inform harm reduction strategies, such as psychoeducational interventions targeting exaggerated perceptions of gambling benefits.</p>