{"id":28850,"date":"2015-05-09T15:43:41","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T22:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=28850"},"modified":"2015-05-08T16:16:54","modified_gmt":"2015-05-08T23:16:54","slug":"australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Study Says Internet Gambling Isn\u2019t Root Cause of Gambling Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gambling
A study by Sally Gainsbury of Southern Cross University found that Internet gaming sites aren\u2019t the root cause of gambling problems. (Image: Sally Gainsbury\/LinkedIn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Online gambling opponents often portray Internet betting as particularly dangerous, using terms like \u201cclick your mouse, lose your house\u201d to suggest that individuals can suddenly run up huge debts after becoming addicted to the games.<\/p>\n

But a new study out of Australia questions these claims, saying that there might not be anything particularly harmful about Internet gambling after all.<\/p>\n

A study by Dr. Sally Gainsbury of Southern Cross University in Australia found that \u201cinternet gambling does not cause gambling problems in, and of, itself,\u201d suggesting that there are fewer unique problems with online gambling than suggested by many.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that Internet gambling can\u2019t be an outlet for those with gambling problems to spend even more money, but it isn\u2019t at the root of the problem in most cases.<\/p>\n

Problem Gamblers May Turn to the Internet to Gamble More<\/b><\/h2>\n

In particular, Gainsbury found that most gambling problems first appeared in live gambling, after which the problem gamblers would migrate to the Internet for more action.<\/p>\n

That suggests that it isn\u2019t the availability of online gambling sites that caused the problems in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvidence is emerging that Internet gambling is not only not predictive of gambling problems,\u201d Gainsbury wrote, \u201cbut that when other variables are controlled for individuals who gamble, online may have lower rates of gambling problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operators Could Be Key to Identifying Problems<\/b><\/h2>\n

Gainsbury\u2019s study also took time to look into other aspects of gambling in order to see what worked and what didn\u2019t when it came to reducing problem gambling.<\/p>\n

For instance, she found that operators may be able to develop tools to recognize individuals with potential problems based on their interactions with the sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalysis of customer communication with online operators identified risk markers that predicted customers closing their accounts due to stated gambling problems,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese included expressed doubts about results of games, requests for account reopening, queries about financial transactions and account administration, the frequency of contacts per month, and use of a threatening tonality.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gainsbury\u2019s study was undertaken in order to find out how online gambling games, including free social games, impacted Australians<\/a> and gamblers in general. In particular, she was concerned that free play games could normalize gambling, eventually leading to real money gambling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re free to play, there are no regulations, they can be accessed by anyone including underage people and the concern is that they\u2019re making gambling seem like an everyday activity, something that\u2019s harmless fun,\u201d Gainsbury said last October.<\/p>\n

Regulation, Bans Don\u2019t Impact Levels of Problem Gambling<\/b><\/h2>\n

One part of Gainsbury\u2019s report suggested that the amount of online gambling regulation in a country didn\u2019t have a direct impact on how much problem gambling occurred in a given country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn analysis across 30 European jurisdictions failed to identify any association between prohibitions against online gambling, gambling licensing systems, the extent of legal gambling opportunities and the prevalence of gambling disorder,\u201d she reported.<\/p>\n

Conclusions such as these could have an impact on debates over online gambling regulation, such as those taking place in the United States today.<\/p>\n

Opponents often suggest that allowing online gambling<\/a> would cause an increase in gambling disorders, and that prohibitions could prevent this; supporters instead say that Internet gambling (and any associated problems) will occur even if a ban is in place, and regulation is preferable as it provides oversight and consumer protections for players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online gambling opponents often portray Internet betting as particularly dangerous, using terms like \u201cclick your mouse, lose your house\u201d to suggest that individuals can suddenly run up huge debts after becoming addicted to the games. But a new study out of Australia questions these claims, saying that there might not be anything particularly harmful about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":28851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralian Study Says Internet Gambling Isn\u2019t Root Cause of Gambling Problems<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new study suggests that Internet gambling is not the underlying cause of gambling problems, though compulsive gamblers may turn online for more action.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australian Study Says Internet Gambling Isn\u2019t Root Cause of Gambling Problems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new study suggests that Internet gambling is not the underlying cause of gambling problems, though compulsive gamblers may turn online for more action.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-09T22:43:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-08T23:16:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Unknown1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/\",\"name\":\"Australian Study Says Internet Gambling Isn\u2019t Root Cause of Gambling Problems\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-09T22:43:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-05-08T23:16:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"A new study suggests that Internet gambling is not the underlying cause of gambling problems, though compulsive gamblers may turn online for more action.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/australian-study-says-internet-gambling-isnt-root-cause-of-gambling-problems\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Unknown1.jpeg\",\"width\":225,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"A study by Sally Gainsbury of Southern Cross University found that Internet gaming sites aren\u2019t the root cause of gambling problems. 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