New Study Shows Online Gambling More Addictive than Casino Gambling
Research Suggests Legalization and Regulation Could Curb Some Harmful Effects
Legalizing and regulating online gambling could help reduce some of its most negative effects on problem gamblers, according to a study by UNLV and the University of Western Ontario. "Blackjack in the Kitchen: Understanding Online Versus Casino Gambling" will be published in the February issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
"The integration of online gambling in the home can more easily turn gambling behavior into a component of a consumer's everyday life, like watching television," said Kathryn LaTour, a professor in UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. "When online gambling becomes a routine daily behavior, it is easier for consumers to engage in mindless consumption of that activity, ultimately resulting in addiction and resultant financial losses."
Online vs. Casino Gambling
LaTour and colleague June Cotte, marketing professor at UWO, interviewed 20 regular casino gamblers and 10 regular online gamblers using pictures as stimuli to learn what gambling feels like and how it is perceived. Results show online gamblers gamble more frequently and aggressively than their casino counterparts.
Because casino gambling requires travel to an outside location, it is more difficult to hide, they found. In contrast, online gambling is quickly accessible with the click of a mouse and easily integrated into daily routines, so more time can be spent on gambling. In addition, online gambling lacks social interaction so participants primarily focus on the game itself, which may appeal to their competitive streak and increase the risk of addiction.
Potential Solutions
The study shows that one potential solution for many of these problems is to allow legitimate sponsors of gambling, like the corporations who run major casinos in the United States and the government sponsors in Canada, to enter a newly regulated market for online gambling.
Online gambling is illegal in the United States and is only allowed in Canada when initiated by its provincial lottery corporations. However, North American consumers can easily engage in online gambling via Internet companies located offshore. As a result, recent estimates of online gambling revenues range between $10 and $12 billion annually.
The following strategies also could be tied into online regulations:
- Better use of age checks when signing up for an online account
- Cross-checking new users with lists of pathological gamblers
- Setting financial limits on gambling and having the site communicate to gamblers that they are spending long hours and a lot of money
- Making information available about problem gambling treatments via instant messages
- Having gambling counselor available online
- Mandatory "cooling-off periods," which force online gamblers to stop gambling for a set amount of time before they are allowed to wager money from their accounts
- Making tabulations of wins and losses more central and larger on the screen
- Minimizing the use of flashing bold graphics to signal wins to lessen the emotional experience for gamblers
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