The Social Impact of Internet Gambling

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. The effect 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 article has three aims. First, it overviews some of the main social concerns about the rise of Internet gambling. Second, it looks at the limited research that has been carried out in this area. Third, it examines whether Internet gambling is doubly addictive, given research that suggests that the Internet can be addictive itself. It is concluded that technological developments in Internet gambling will increase the potential for problem gambling globally, but that many of the ideas and speculations outlined in this article need to be addressed further by large-scale empirical studies.