'Lawless' internet proving costly
2006-05-24 13:14
London - 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 £53bn.
The biggest growth area in gambling is online, through the
internet's estimated 2 300 gaming sites, which generate around
$12bn 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 spokesperson.
Massive debts
GamCare, a charity for gambling addicts, said those who
contacted them had average debts of over £25 000, and just
under five percent of callers had run up debts of over £100 000.
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 websites
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
websites."
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.