Internet users in the world already hit one and a half billion persons approximately in July 2008 (Internet World Stats, 2009).

The young population, especially those in the developed countries, born after 1990 were brought up in a wired world that a few of them do not know how to surf online. With the proliferation of internet use, access to gambling opportunities has never been easier.

Online gambling sprang over the past years with the very first virtual online casino opened in 1995. Some studies showed that there are over 2500 internet gambling sites and the number is growing daily. Internet gambling includes sports betting, poker, casino type games, lotteries and many others. It can be taken in different forms such as fixed odds betting, peer to peer betting or spread betting.

What makes internet gambling a growing concern is not only because of the explosion of the market, it is so easily accessible and highly unregulated that a lot of the vulnerable populations may fall prey to it. One Canadian study in 2001 found that rates of internet gambling were higher among women (6.3%) than among men (4.9%) although men customarily have much higher rates of gambling in research results around the world.

Internet gambling is more appealing to women because it is less intimidating and anonymous. Although technology is stereotypically seen as the purview of youth, seniors are one of the fastest growing categories of computer uses.

Gambling on-line is attractive to people for many reasons:

Accessibility – it can be accessed from anywhere by internet, cell phones or personal digital assistants even in your bedroom wearing your pyjama, anytime around the clock.

Affordability – it is getting cheaper to access the internet than talking on the phone.

Anonymity – you can be anyone in the wired world. It can take away the fear of stigma for gambling.

Disinhibition – you can say or do anything that you wouldn’t ordinarily say or do in the real world.

Event frequency – you can play on multiple sites at the same time and faster spin rates than on slot machines.

Perception of control – you may have a false perception of control similar to playing video games online

Internet gambling is fast growing without obvious regulatory or consumer protection. There are significant risks posed on the gamblers:

Unregulated – there is no way to ensure the games are fair and the winnings will be paid out. You have no way to know who else is playing in the same game. It may be a computer program or one person with four different accounts playing against you. You have no idea how much the game is biased towards the operator or if the operator changes the odds constantly without letting you know.

Identity theft – there is no guarantee your personal information exchanged through the internet is safe. Your play habits, account information, and other personal information can be sold to other companies or stolen.

Increased level of isolation – gambling for some people is for social reasons with the possibility of fun and chance to win money. However, gambling online is always alone and this correlates with many research findings that those who experience gambling problems are more likely to be those playing on their own. Gambling problems will probably increase due to the asocial nature of online gambling.

Decreased ability to track time and money spent gambling – you never have to leave home when you gamble online and it is increasingly difficult to keep track of time. Online gambling uses credit or debit cards for transaction, it can temporarily disrupt the player’s financial value system as the player never have to stop to get more money not until the account is depleted.

After paying due consideration to the risks associated with online gambling, if you choose to do so, you should keep these in mind:

Choose only regulated sites or sites by well-known companies that have a history of reputable gambling in offline world.

Set limits on time and money spent and take frequent breaks.

Gambling can be fun but like other kind of entertainment, you are paying for the fun. You should gamble with money you can afford to spend or lose.

Online gambling is business to make money for the operator. The odds are always stacked against the players. If you are playing for money, you are probably in the wrong place.