Brit academic critical of online gambling US presentation

Online gambling is making regulation more difficult, luring children to gambling and introducing new types of problem gambling, a British academic told a problem gambling conference in America Thursday.

Professor Mark Griffiths who heads gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, has sounded warnings on internet gambling in previous interviews and presentations.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Griffiths said that technology will make gambling more accessible as gamblers turn to online sites and avoid land venues, reports The Republic newspaper.

He also opined that children may be too trusting of websites and mistakenly believe that points they win on social network sites can be cashed in for money.

“How do we legislate stopping children from gambling on Facebook from home?” Griffiths asked.

The professor claimed that underage children are learning to play poker online at free sites and will be accomplished gamblers when they may legally play for money at age 18.

He warned that the growing number of online gambling sites and the rising use of mobile devices and interactive TV for gambling is drawing in significant numbers of women.

Technology also allows gamblers to play at numerous sites simultaneously, increasing their risk of developing into problem gamblers, Griffiths said, adding that problem gambling is more prevalent online than at land casinos because gamblers are not observed.

Gambling while drunk, for example, is generally not permitted at casinos but is undetected online and gamblers are more prone to gamble recklessly, he claimed.

Griffiths pointed out that developments in payment technology make multi-currency wagering easier, too.