Harvard Provides Evidence Online Gambling Isn’t as Addictive as Perceived

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Harvard Provides Evidence Online Gambling Isn’t as Addictive as PerceivedWell we have all been hearing how internet gambling is becoming more of a reality in the United States (cases in point – New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada). With that, concerns of increased gambling addiction have been raised. It has been assumed that with the ability to just sit in your own home and gamble that one would be more likely to gamble more of their income, and more frequently.

Surprisingly, according to Mirror, “recent research conducted by Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addiction has found no evidence that online casinos create more problem gamblers than any other form of gambling.” How did Harvard come to these findings? They did a test group of 4,000 people to gamble online. They found of the 4,000, that “only a tiny minority of players (between 1%-5%) exhibited “intense gambling behavior that far exceeded the rest of the sample.” The Week also backs up these findings by quoting, “Of the estimated USD$475 billion lost in worldwide gambling in 2013, only around 7% was lost in online casinos.”  Now that’s a horse of a different color!

So what is keeping the addiction of internet gambling down? Joel Galin, from Online-Casinos-Canada.ca was quoted, “Age verification checks, parent controls, self-exclusion policies and voluntary loss limits are all used by online casinos to help problem gamblers to restrict their losses and playing time, and to prevent under-age players from access. In addition, most online casinos, such as Mr. Green and 888, actively promote links to organizations that assist with problem gambling.”

Now, do not get me wrong. Addiction problems are no joking matter. I would recommend Helpguide.org as a resource. If you do not feel you’re getting the help you need from a website, please speak to a counselor, a loved one, or a trusted friend. There is always someone out there who is willing to help.

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