I.   Social Effects

 II.  Fraud and
       Gaming
       Integrity

 III. Lost        Revenue

 IV. Organized
       Crime

 V.   Ban or
       Regulate?

Social Effects

Compulsive Gambling

There is little argument that compulsive gambling can devastate the lives of individual gamblers and their families.  While some people are genetically predisposed to compulsive gambling, studies have shown that accessibility and availability of gambling increase addiction levels. One study, for example, indicates that individuals residing within fifty miles of a casino are at approximately double the  risk of becoming a compulsive gambler.  Internet gambling sites have made gambling easier than ever before—gamblers can wager online at any time from the comfort of their own homes. In addition to this increased availability, the American Psychiatric Society has noted that “[i]nternet gambling, unlike many other forms of gambling activity, is a solitary activity, which makes it even more dangerous; people can gamble uninterrupted and undetected for unlimited periods of time” (see References below). This added convenience and availability arguably contributes to the level of compulsive gambling in the United States.

References:

• Chad Hills and Ron Reno, Gambling Availability and Addiction, Dec. 4,
  2003, at http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/gambling/facts/a0029095.cfm
• Congressional Testimony of John G. Malcolm, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Mar. 18, 2003, at http://www.cybercrime.gov/malcolmTestimony318.htm (quoting the American Psychiatric Society).

Access by Minors

Gambling by minors has been a rising concern with gambling opponents. Many believe that adolescents are at a greater risk of compulsive gambling due to the fact that their brains are still developing, particularly the prefrontal cortex, which affects reasoning and risk assessment. This is a concern for all gambling establishments, online or offline. Online gambling, however, makes gambling easier for minors because they only need a credit card. While some minors still manage to gamble in established, offline casinos, there are protections available, such as ejection from the site by security. For example, in 1995 alone, New Jersey casinos ejected roughly 26,000 minors after they had entered the premises, and another 136,000 were turned away at the door. With the relative anonymity (including a lack of visual age indicators) of internet gambling, this safeguard is lost.

References:  

• Chad Hills, Childhood and Adolescent Gambling, Nov. 10, 2003, at http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/gambling/facts/a0028804.cfm
• See Malcolm Testimony, at http://www.cybercrime.gov/malcolmTestimony318.htm