This is any form of gambling that is done on the Internet and covers many different types. This includes gambling in online casinos (on simulated slot machines, roulette wheels, etc.), gambling in betting exchanges (where gamblers make private bets with other punters and are paired up by the service provider), gambling on lotteries (such as playing the national lotto game via the Internet, or use of an electronic scratchcard), and gambling at online poker sites (where punters play in real time against other real competitors). Also known as online gambling.
Published in Chapter:
Internet Gambling
Mark Griffiths (Nottingham Trent University, UK) and Adrian Parke (Nottingham Trent University, UK)
Copyright: © 2008
|Pages: 7
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59140-993-9.ch033
Abstract
Technology has always played a role in the development of gambling practices and continues to provide new market opportunities. One of the fastest growing areas is that of Internet gambling (also known as online gambling). Examples include online lotteries, online casinos, online bookmakers, online betting exchanges, online poker sites, etc. The impact of such technologies should not be accepted uncritically, particularly as there may be areas of potential concern based on what is known about problem gambling offline. This chapter therefore has three aims. Firstly, it highlights salient factors in the rise of Internet gambling (i.e., accessibility, affordability, anonymity, convenience, escape immersion/dissociation, disinhibition, event frequency, asociability, and simulation). Secondly, it examines whether Internet gambling is ‘doubly addictive’ given research that suggests that the internet can be addictive itself. Finally, it overviews some of the main social concerns about the rise of Internet gambling before examining a few future trends in relation to remote gambling more generally.