Online Gambling is any kind of gambling that takes place on the internet and includes virtual poker, casinos, sports betting, and lottery games. It is an estimated $9.5 billion per year business and is growing rapidly. However, for millions of people, it can be dangerous. Gambling is an activity that can lead to addiction and can affect personal, family, and work relationships. It also can have serious financial ramifications, and it is possible to lose more money than you can afford. It is important to be aware of the signs of gambling problems, including feelings of withdrawal when you stop playing.
A recent study by Ipsos MORI and Gamble Aware found that young people are more exposed to gambling advertising than older adults, and that they spend more time on gaming. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased concerns about the impact of online gambling on young people, and there are calls for schools to include it in their PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) curriculum from September 2020.
Many studies have investigated risk and protective factors in online gamblers, but the results differ widely between papers. The majority of the articles have used nonrepresentative samples, so it would be desirable to use more representative data in future research. In addition, the majority of studies have used cross-sectional designs, which limits the opportunity to evaluate the impact of different factors over time. Despite these differences, some common elements appear, including the finding that women are more likely to gamble and are at greater risk of developing pathological gambling.