The rate of internet gambling is on the rise in Australia, according to new research from Southern Cross University and the University of Sydney.
‘An investigation of internet gambling in Australia’ was led by Dr Sally Gainsbury from Southern Cross University’s Centre for Gambling Education and Research (CGER), with the assistance of CGER director Professor Nerilee Hing, Professor Alex Blaszczynski from the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney and the University of Lethbridge’s Dr Robert Wood.
“Internet gamblers had significantly more positive attitudes towards gambling,” said Dr Gainsbury.
“People appear to be gravitating towards online gambling because of the availability and the convenience. It can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
“But for people with existing gambling problems, internet gambling may create additional risks.”
The findings are part of the largest survey of internet gamblers to date in Australia, with more than 6680 participants taking part in the self-selected, online questionnaire.
Dr Gainsbury said overall the research showed internet gamblers were not more likely to be problem gamblers, but they do appear to be at higher risk of developing problems.
“Internet gambling poses unique risks to players; it is constantly available and people can play online in private, with relative anonymity.
“The use of electronic funds did increase spending for some players and may create negative consequences for some people.”
Over half of the 450 problem internet gamblers responding to the survey said the use of credit cards or internet bank transfers increased the amount they spent compared to less than one in 10 of the 2270 non-problem internet gamblers.
While internet gambling has been around since the 1990s, its popularity has soared in the past few years, with clear trends indicating an increasing number of participants starting to gamble online.
More than half of the survey participants started gambling online from around 2006.
“Gambling problems do take a while to set in before causing really severe consequences so, as people continue to play online, we may see more problems emerge from this form of gambling,” said Dr Gainsbury.
The researchers have called for the online gambling space to be made safer for users. Among the recommendations, players being encouraged to set limits on their spending; pop-up messages suggesting a break in long continuous sessions; and self-tests to determine the risk of developing gambling problems.
The study set out to explore the characteristics of internet gamblers and found:
Internet gamblers were more likely to be from higher income households, and to either work fulltime or be a student.
Online players tended to participate in a greater number of gambling activities overall and were technically savvy.
