Online Casinos May Keep Elderly Minds Healthy

Studies show that seniors are gambling at online casinos in increasing rates, which may be good for them, providing needed mental stimulation and exercise.

Scientists studying aging and degeneration of the brain have found gambling at online casinos to be healthy activity for the brains of senior citizens. Sedentary existence causes loss of ability in mental as well as physical life for the aging, and the challenge of playing and mastering Internet casino games can constitute necessary exercise for the mind.

A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University found that 70 percent of elderly people in the US had participated in a gambling game of some sort in the last year. The curiosity to try online gambling leads many senior citizens to learn computer skills.

According to Associate Professor Stephen Robinson of Melbourne Monash University, the brain needs to constantly learn new things, and do exercises, or risk atrophy. Games using strategy such as blackjack and poker force concentration and thought.

Robinson says mental activity can help prevent the development of Alzheimer's and dementia. Playing at online casinos can avoid the difficulty of traveling to gambling venues, while offering mental stimulation that may otherwise be absent.

As long as gambling continues in moderation, playing at Internet casinos may help keep elderly people happier, more alert, and more capable.