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Internet gambling
No-one is really sure how the
Internet will develop over the next five to 10 years, but Internet gambling
as a commercial activity has the potential for large financial rewards
for its operators. The success of Internet gambling depends on many factors
including diversity, accessibility and advertising. Internet gambling
is provided by a network of networks that span geographical borders and
are not discrete. Internet gambling is therefore global, accessible and
available 24 hours a day.
The growth of the Internet
raises interesting questions. Perhaps one way to think of this growth
is to see the Internet as providing a medium for other addictions (e.g.,
gambling, computer game playing, etc.). It has been argued (Griffiths,
1996a, 1998) that the Internet could easily be a medium for obsessive
and/or compulsive behaviours such as gambling. Some observers (e.g., O'Neill,
1998) have argued that Internet gambling provides "a natural fit for compulsive
gamblers." Griffiths (1999) also raises the following issues:
- Underage gambling.
How can you be sure that adolescents are not accessing Internet gambling
by using a parent's credit card?
- Problem gambling.
How can you stop problem gamblers from gambling?
- Gambling while intoxicated.
How can you be sure that a person under the influence of alcohol or
other drugs does not have access to Internet gambling?
- Internet gambling in
the workplace.
How can you be sure that a person is not wasting time at work gambling
on the Internet?
- Electronic cash.
How can a person with a credit card be prevented from spending more
than they intended? It is very likely that the psychological value of
electronic cash will be less than "real" cash (and similar to the use
of chips or tokens in other gambling situations). This may lead to some
kind of "suspension of judgment."
- Hours of operation.
How can you prevent a person from playing all day? The Internet never
closes, so it is theoretically possible to gamble all day, every day.
Internet gambling is a new
phenomenon and to date no research on prevalence has been published. This
study, therefore, provides the results of the first U.K. survey of Internet
gambling, examining both behaviour and attitudes.
Method
A total of 2098 people (918
male and 1180 female) were interviewed across 167 different sampling points
by MORI, a market research company. (MORI was founded in 1969 and is the
largest independent research service agency in the United Kingdom.) People
were interviewed face-to-face in their homes, and the interviewers used
computer-assisted techniques. The data were weighted in order to represent
the entire U.K. population. Of the 2098 participants, 495 (24%) were Internet
users.
Results
Attitudes toward gambling:
Participants were asked a number
of questions about their attitudes toward gambling in general. Gambling
was defined as "risking money for a future reward on a particular activity,"
such as horse race betting, slot machine gambling, etc. Fifty-one per
cent thought gambling was generally addictive, 20% described it as an
unhealthy activity, 22% said it was a dangerous activity and 56% thought
it was a waste of money.
Attitudes toward Internet
gambling
Participants were also asked
a number of questions about their attitudes toward Internet gambling compared
to non-Internet gambling. Eight per cent thought Internet gambling was
more addictive, 5% said it was more unhealthy, 9% claimed it was more
dangerous, 13% said it was less regulated and 21% claimed it was more
likely to attract children.
Gambling on the Internet:
Participants who were also
Internet users (n=495) were asked about their actual Internet gambling
behaviour. The results showed that no-one gambled regularly (i.e. once
a week or more) on the Internet and that only 1% were occasional Internet
gamblers (i.e. less than once a week). Results also showed that a further
4% had never gambled but would like to do so, whereas the remaining 95%
had never gambled on the Internet and said they were unlikely to do so.
Teenage Internet gambling:
Participants who were between
15 and 19 years old (n=119) were also asked if they had ever gambled on
the Internet, and if they had, whether they had used a parent's credit
card. No-one in the sample had done either, although 4% said they would
like to gamble on the 'Net.
Female Internet gambling:
Female participants (n=1180)
were also asked about their attitudes toward gambling online as compared
to gambling in a betting shop. Of those surveyed, 73% said they would
never gamble on the Internet. However, 2% reported that they would rather
gamble on the Internet because it's safer, 9% said it's less intimidating,
9% claimed it's more anonymous, 2% said it's more fun and 13% claimed
it was more tempting.
Conclusions
The results of this first U.K.
survey of Internet gambling behaviour and attitudes are interesting but
not that surprising given the relatively low use of the Internet in the
U.K. (Traditionally, in the U.K. most people have to pay by the minute
for Internet access, which most likely inhibits use.) Interestingly, general
attitudes toward gambling were quite negative (i.e. people thought it
was addictive, unhealthy, etc.), whereas attitudes toward Internet gambling
appeared quite positive. However, this may be due to inexperience and/or
ignorance of the issues involved. For instance, only 13% of the sample
thought Internet gambling was less regulated than other forms of gambling.
This is clearly not the case as there is little legislation in the U.K.
concerning Internet gambling.
Although there has been speculation
that Internet gambling is addictive, there is no evidence from this study.
Although a problem gambling screen was not administered, the fact that
no-one in the study was a regular gambler suggests that there were few
problems (if any) among this particular population. However, as the number
of online users in the U.K. increases, the potential for problem gambling
will increase. This study should therefore be viewed in the context that
it was carried out at a time when Internet use was limited in the U.K.
The U.K. has a higher prevalence of Internet use than France or Germany,
but its rate is much lower than the U.S. and many Scandinavian countries
(Snoddy, 2001).
This survey also highlights
a small minority of women who think that Internet gambling may be a more
positive experience than visiting the male-dominated environment of the
bookmaker. These women claimed the Internet was not intimidating, but
was safer and more fun. Internet gambling may therefore (in the future)
provide a safe forum for women wanting to gamble — at least from
a perceived point of view.
Since many teenagers now have
access to the Internet either at home or at school, there has been a pressing
concern that children and adolescents will take up gambling on the Internet.
This perception was partly shared by participants; one in five of those
surveyed felt that Internet gambling would be more attractive to teenagers.
Having said that, no teenagers in this study gambled on the Internet.
However, one in 20 teenagers interviewed found the prospect of using their
parent's credit card to gamble tempting.
Internet gambling is at the
cutting edge of future entertainment and is an issue that must be grasped
by many people (legislators, social policy analysts, psychologists, sociologists,
etc.), as the number of sites and users will rise dramatically over the
next decade. Gambling online, which is currently a minor activity, may
be tempting because of the anonymity and accessibility of the Internet.
It therefore has the potential to become a social problem in the near
future, unless guidelines and legislation are introduced. It has also
been speculated (Griffiths, 1993, 1995c) that structural characteristics
of future software programs might promote addictive tendencies. Structural
characteristics (i.e. features which manufacturers design into their products)
promote interactivity and to some extent define alternative realities
to the user, allowing them feelings of anonymity. These features may be
very psychologically rewarding to individuals with these tendencies. There
is little doubt that Internet use among the general population will increase
over the next few years, and if social pathologies exist, then there is
a need for further research.
References
- Griffiths, M.D. (1993).
- Fruit
machine gambling: The importance of structural characteristics. Journal
of Gambling Studies, 9, 133–152.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1995a).
- Technological addictions.
Clinical Psychology Forum, 76, 14–19.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1995b).
- Netties Anonymous. Times
Higher Educational Supplement, April 7, p. 18.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1995c).
- Adolescent
Gambling. London: Routledge.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1996a).
- Gambling on the Internet:
A brief note. Journal of Gambling Studies, 12, 471–474.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1996b).
- Internet addiction: An issue
for clinical psychology? Clinical Psychology Forum, 97, 32–36.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1996c).
- Behaviourial addictions:
An issue for everybody? Employee Counselling Today, 8(3), 19–25.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1998).
- Internet addiction:
Does it really exist? In J. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the
Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal and Transpersonal Applications
(pp. 61–75). New York: Academic Press.
- Griffiths, M.D. (1999).
- Gambling technologies: Prospects
for problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 15, 265–283.
- Marks, I. (1990).
- Non-chemical (behaviourial)
addictions. British Journal of Addiction, 85, 1389–1394.
- O'Neill, K. (1998, June).
- Internet
gambling. Paper presented at the 13th National Council on Problem
Gambling Conference, Las Vegas, USA.
- Snoddy, J. (2001, April
25).
- UK net user numbers grow
despite dot.coms crash. The Guardian, p.25.
This article was peer-reviewed.
Submitted: May 17, 2001
Accepted: September 21, 2001
Address for correspondence:
Psychology Division,
Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, United Kingdom
NG1 4BU
Phone: +44 (0) 115 8485528
Fax: +44 (0) 115 8486826
E-mail: mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.uk
Mark Griffiths, PhD,
is a reader in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University and is internationally
known for his research on gambling and gaming addictions. In 1994
he was the first recipient of the John Rosecrance Research Prize for
"Outstanding scholarly contributions to the field of gambling research."
He has published over 90 refereed research papers, numerous book chapters
and over 250 other articles. His current interests are technological
addictions, especially computer games and the Internet.
Other research articles in
this issue
The
Effect of Skilled Gamblers on the Success of Less Skilled Gamblers
Internet
Gambling Among Ontario Adults
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