Online Gambling Less Dangerous Than Land Casinos, Study Says
A recent study found significant differences in the attitudes and expectations of online gamblers as opposed to those who visit land casinos. Publishing in the Journal of Consumer Research, June Cotte of the University of Western Ontario and Kathryn Latour of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas found motivations and experiences were vastly dissimilar.
The study found that land casino gamblers were often in search of thrills and highs. The lighting, sounds, and atmosphere provided a distinctly unusual setting. A feeling of temporary community is formed with other gamblers, traveling along to unknown fates.
Thrills and social experiences are among the desired effects of land casino gambling.
Online gamblers believe themselves more in control. Playing at home, there is no temptation to grab more money to sustain the experience, as the experience is the natural, everyday feeling of one's own house.
While the authors do warn against gambling insinuating itself into a daily habit, there is certainly an understanding that online casinos allow for clarity in personal judgement which land casinos may strive to block.
Further, the study suggests regulating Internet gambling may remove the temptation of doing something illegal. This would mean gambling would, to some degree, become mundane, losing the forbidden fruit attraction.
It seems that online gambling may be in many ways less likely to encourage compulsive gambling. Finding oneself in a familiar environment certainly would lead to more responsible decisions, and less temptation to lose oneself in the illusion of bright lights, big city.
Recent Comments
| Posted by: Peter | When: 04/10/2009 05:12:58 AM EST |
| The figures in this article are not correct. Who made this study ? You will find many other studies show that there is a 3 times higher risk of becoming a compulsive gambler, if you gamble online. Online gambling is the cause of many people developing gambling problems. Treatment Centers tell of a dramatic increase in people seeking help as the result of online gambling. | |
| Posted by: A.J. Maldonado | When: 04/10/2009 12:44:03 PM EST |
| Both the authors of the study and the publisher are listed in the article. Anecdotal evidence from treatment centers is considered less than worthless is scientific study. There are no controls, and the persons relaying the stories often have prejudiced viewpoints. Further, treatment is often based on a twelve-step model, which features anonymity and therefore cannot be measured properly. So, to quote the head of a counseling program as saying there are three time the addicts from online gambling merely draws the question what proof of this exists. Anti-gambling factions frequently make broad statements based on "common knowledge" rather than scientific survey, and those assumptions are often wrong. | |
