Saturday 4 October 2008

Effective Responsible Gambling Features in Cyberspace

My PhD research is attempting to investigate the most effective responsible gambling features in cyberspace. The anonymity and accessibility of Internet gambling ensure that a range of problems will be associated with it and whilst for the cast majority of gamblers, they are buying entertainment and having a good experience, for a small minority, problem gambling is a serious problem and in the worst cases, gamblers lose their jobs, their savings, their homes and most importantly, their families and those persons for whom they care.

I would really appreciate any thoughts anybody may have about features or controls they believe would be useful for them or for problem gamblers or for recreational gamblers. If you feel able to submit a comment, I would greatly appreciate an insight into your gambling behaviour, especially if you feel you have a problem with your gambling.

My study is being self-funded and I have no association with any operators, lobbyists or gambling support groups. Your comments and co-operation will be valuable both to this research and to the general debate surrounding making Internet gambling safe.

5 comments:

gambler said...

What's the point with having RGF's? Hardcore gamblers cant stop themselves. Do health warnings on cigarette packets stop smokers? Do drug warnings stop all junkies? Why do companies bother with preventative warnings when no one listens? Oh yeah - that would be because of government laws saying companies have to put warnings on. But at the moment the government loves gambling. Every other tv advert seems to be about bingo online or poker sites. It's like a national craze at the moment. I remember reading the Daily Mail a year or two back and they were going craaaaazy over supercasinos being set up in Britain. And guess what - they now have their own bingo online site!!! It's gone mad. It's not making any sense to me.

Woods by the woods and the water said...

I think you will find that there are far less smokers now than there were 20 or even 10 years ago and this is in no small part due to prevention measures.

Gambling is a fact of life, ban it and it just goes underground and makes money for criminals. A lot can be done to make the gambling environment safer and to provide referral and help for those who do develop problems. Responsible gambling initiatives are still in their infancy but that's all the more reason to invest in developing them.

hendo87 said...

Hi, im also a student and doing my dissertation on the gambling industry, though more from the point of view that the internet has changed the industry greatly and investigating why and how this has happened. I have a blog at http://onlinegamblingindustry.blogspot.com/

As for responsible gambling, I think that the gov hav an important part to play but that it is far more difficult now as the internet has no jurisdiction. Online companies are being enticed into the UK by favourable tax rates so the gov can impose regulations upon them. This has to be done or they would set up in Costa Rica and be able to exploit gamblers even more.

The question for me is how many gamblers actually take any notice of RGF's? the fact is they dont unless they are already in trouble. So new initiatives must force gamblers to listen

Anonymous said...

Responsible Gambling begins with the individual. For Many Years I have been involved in one fashion or another, both on the gambler's side of the table and for more years than that, as the House.
Many, if not most people that gamble are responsible. It is when it is illegal that it becomes something more for the good folks. Internet gambling in istelf is not habit forming, does not lure young people, and has restrictions as to how, when, and how much one can loose, or play. Of course, not all onling gambling sites adhere to all of the common sense restrictions, but almost all reputable ones have limits, guidelines, age verification, and some also have location verification.
Gambling, be it in a brick and mortar casino or online poses no different a risk. The biggest difference I see is that when people gamble online, they are more prudent, they are at home in safety, and do not have the enticements of land based casinos to keep them there and active.
Studies from Harvard University and other well-renowned think tanks have shown that problem gambling is an addicition similar to alcohol, drugs, even to certain mental disorders. Tjis is not the norm for most people.
Therefore the problem is not gambling, it is the person.
The competent monitoring of your customer and regulation to ensure fairness are but 2 ways to ensure that problem gambling will not be an issue.
Currently, the United States allows many forms of gambling to exist, both on land and in cyberspace. If the problem was as widespread as some would like us to believe, there would be absolutely no gambling allowed. Yet we can play the lottery online, gamble on horse and dogs, but not slots or sports.
Might I digress for a moment, there are no federal laws that actually ban gambling other than that on sporting events, yet, somehow, horse and dog racing are exempted from this law. All other forms of gambling are not mentioned anywhere in federal law, although a few states do expressely forbid it.
Legal, Licensed, Regulated Online Gambling is the only way for us to go. Currently, anyone that has a computer, any age, anywhere, can gamble online. The UIGEA which was enacted in 2006 and the rules for that will not become effective until December, 2009, will only curtail monies being sent offshore, not the business itself.
We at Onlinegamblingcommunity.com believe that this unfair will be overturned with H.R. 2267

DNG said...

Gambling has been studied for a long while now, and i think gambling will also be related to psychology. Gamblers must be studied according to their behavior in land or online casino.