Risk Factors Associated With Online Gambling

Online gambling is one of the fastest growing industries. This form of gambling involves playing games such as blackjack, poker, slots, and video roulette over the Internet using a computer, smartphone or tablet with an Internet connection. Online gamblers can play for real money or for free, but the first step to getting started is to create an account and deposit money into it. Then, you can begin to make bets and win real cash prizes.

The high accessibility of gambling products increases the risk for harms. This is especially true for high-intensity products such as EGMs and casino games, and for opportunities to place wagers on sporting events, which are often colocated with popular sport leagues and broadcast in social media settings. Aggressive promotion also increases exposure to gambling products, and this can lead to normalization of gambling.

Personality traits and life contexts can also increase the risk for gambling harm. Research has found that high impulsivity and dysfunctional personality characteristics are more common among people who gamble, and these factors increase the likelihood of problem gambling. Additionally, the ability to conceal gambling activity more easily due to the anonymity of online gambling makes it harder for individuals to control their urges and limit their behavior.

To understand the risk factors associated with Online Gambling, researchers conducted a systematic review of literature in PubMed and PsychInfo databases. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed articles and included the keywords “gambling,” “online,” and “risk factors, predictors, correlates.” Two types of comparisons were made: offline versus online gamblers and online nonproblematic versus online problematic gamblers.