Gambling and INTERNET

Online Gambling is becoming an increasingly popular form of gambling, and there are now an estimated 1,700 gambling websites on the Internet. It is essential to develop strategies that will:

	Improve the understanding of gambling’s social impact
	Promote responsible gambling practices
	Address the needs of those negatively impacted by a gambling dependency.

The convenience of gambling at home, the ease of setting up a gambling account and the variety of forms of gambling - from traditional betting, to casino gambling, bingo and lotteries - makes online gambling very appealing. You can now also gamble through interactive television and a mobile phone. However, while many people gamble online without any problems, there are some issues regarding online gambling that could certainly increase the risk of developing a gambling problem. These are:

	The ability to gamble 24 hours a day in your own home
	The increased risk of exposure and access by children and young adults under 21
	The captivating feature of computers, leading people to lose track of time while gambling
	The decrease in the perception of money spent - players forgetting that they are spending money and how much is really being spent

While one bet a year doesn't mean a person has a problem, making small bets on a regular basis may start the person on an irreversible journey into the world of gambling. Easy availability and opportunity to make bets are key ingredients luring more young people into gambling. Many young adults have stated they prefer Internet gambling for its easy access. On Internet sites, college students can gamble from their dorm or apartment. It's convenient, and everyone loves convenience.

Although there may be some benefits to gambling on the Internet, the disadvantages often outweigh these benefits. While an Internet casino may know how much a person is spending, it may not know who is spending it. A person has to be 21 to gamble in a real casino, but there is not a lot of control on the Internet A person fills out the information and gives the on-line casino their credit card number, yet a person could easily let someone else gamble in their place. There is also the issue of someone else gaining access to your credit card and using that credit card to gamble online.

While Internet gambling is popular among several age groups, teenagers have shown a special interest in the sites. "Statistics prove that teen-age Internet gambling is the fastest growing addiction of the day, akin to drug and alcohol abuse in the 1930s" ( David Robertson, former chairman of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, 2003 Daily O’Collegian, Oklahoma State University) "It feeds on those who are the weakest members of society -- and that's the young and the poor."

With the introduction of gaming over the internet, gambling addicts are faced with a new hurdle in which to jump over, newly acquired access to gambling from the comfort of their own homes. Now their gambling addiction becomes harder to resist due to easy accessibility of online gaming websites.