Entertainment, Gambling Addiction, Science – Or the Lack of It

Online gambling is a question that is hard to avoid. Some would like to see it regulated in the whole United States, others see it as the root of all evil, with the potential to ruin our kids and destroy our society. Consider this, though: online casinos are regulated in Europe since the very beginning of the industry (1994), and their society doesn’t show more signs of decline than our own. The opponents of online casinos support their arguments with the demon of gambling addiction, which must skyrocket thanks to the availability of online gambling venues in the US. But science claims otherwise.

Decades of online gambling

The first online casino was launched 22 years ago. Since then, hundreds of others were founded, some more longeval, others short-lived. Some of them, launched in the early 2000s, have found the way to navigate through a harsh regulatory environment and are still in business today. Like http://www.allslotscasino.com, founded in 2001, and still very much alive and kicking. The All Slots Casino, part of the reputable casino group Digimedia, has offered its players the online entertainment of their choice for more than a decade. With a continuously growing library of games, attractive bonuses, and promotions, the All Slots Casino manages to maintain its status as a popular, reliable gaming destination. And the All Slots Casino will continue to do so for as long as there are players out there.

The demon of gambling addiction

Opponents of online gambling keep trying to scare people with the demon of gambling addiction. They say that underage gaming and problem gambling will become widespread with the much-improved access to gambling games. Anti-online gambling groups, sometimes supported by stakeholders in the land-based gambling industry, usually state these claims without any science to back them – as no major study has been conducted on the online gambling industry. None, but one – which doesn’t support their claims.

A study conducted by the Harvard University’s Division on Addiction in 2014 has shed some light on the prevalence of gambling addiction among online gamblers. Their findings were surprising for many: the data collected from over 4,000 active gamblers showed that only a tiny fraction, between 1 and 5%, exhibited “intense gambling behavior that far exceeded the rest of the sample”. Another study has shown that the instances of gambling addiction have remained constant for the last 35 years. Online gambling is around for over two decades. Where are the hordes of casino addicts?

To make things more interesting, the data shows that land-based gambling destinations are responsible for far more money lost than their online counterparts. And that online gamblers are much more disciplined, and spend far less than any land-based casino player. For more details about the study, read the original article in The Atlantic.