"Lawless" Internet proving costly for gamblers By Kate Holton
The Internet is a "lawless land," easily accessed 24 hours a day without stepping out of the house, and for gamblers that can be a costly and irresistible temptation.
A recent study published in Britain suggested almost three quarters of the population engage in some form of gambling at some point during the year, handing the gaming industry an annual turnover of 53 billion pounds ($99.38 billion).
The biggest growth area in gambling is online, through the Internet's estimated 2,300 gaming sites, which generate around $12 billion a year.
The Internet is also helping fuel a substantial rise in gambling addiction.
"You can basically do it from your home or your work place, and you can gamble for 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days of the year," Mark Griffiths, a professor of gambling, told Reuters in an interview.
"If you are a vulnerable individual, the ease of online gambling -- the instant access and convenience of use -- is likely to fuel those addictive tendencies you have already."
The government says 0.8 percent of the population have some sort of addiction to gambling.
But sophisticated new software can be used to spot the unusual betting patterns of gambling addicts, says eCOGRA, an online gaming auditor set up by firms like 888 Plc, Ongame and software maker Microgaming.
"There are self-exclusion buttons the players can hit, and operators will sometimes contact players to suggest a cooling-off period," said an eCOGRA spokesman.
MASSIVE DEBTS
GamCare, a charity for gambling addicts, said those who contacted them had average debts of over 25,000 pounds, and just under 5 percent of callers had run up debts of over 100,000 pounds.
In Britain, the government has created the independent Gambling Commission, which from 2007 will regulate the British companies who run gaming sites.
Under the new Gambling Commission rules, gambling Web sites will have to train employees to spot possible problem gamblers and offer help and advice on their sites.
Online operators must also make sure customers are aware of how much time and money they have spent.
But with most companies operating from offshore jurisdictions like Gibraltar, Cyprus, Antigua and Costa Rica, complete regulation is impossible.
"It's basically a lawless land," Gamcare's Teresa Tunstall told Reuters. "We urge betters to use regulated and well known Web sites."
Bookmaker Ladbrokes says that while it is too early to decide whether to bring its online gaming operations onshore, it is keen to see UK gambling regulation extending as far as possible.
Analysts and GamCare say the circumstances of online gambling -- the speed with which people can bet and its solitary nature -- removes a layer of protection that is present in betting shops and casinos.
"How does anyone operating an online gambling site know if a player has learning disabilities?" said professor Griffiths.
"How do they know if the player has had too much to drink or taken drugs? The point is that they don't.
"Even if one online site is responsible and says we're not going to have that problem gambler, you are just a click away from finding another online betting site that isn't."
(additional reporting by Pete Harrison)
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited.
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