What is Online Gambling

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.