Online Gambling Essay Research Paper The Social

Online Gambling Essay, Research Paper

The Social and Legal Problems Posed by Online Gambling

Introduction

Not only has the Internet brought gambling into the home, it has made it anonymous and readily available to virtually anyone at any time and at any place. As a result, the popularity of Internet gambling has skyrocketed over the past few years. Since the first virtual online casino started up in 1995, the industry has grown to over 450 gambling websites. In 1997, Internet gambling produced at least $200 million in business. Conservative estimates conclude that online gambling will bring in at least $3 billion of annual revenue by 2002. Gambling over the Internet can be performed in most traditional manners. Virtual casinos and sports books, however, continue to lead the online gambling industry.

A typical on-line gambling experience is as quick and easy as turning on your computer and going to your favourite gambling Web site. Gamblers first click on a link that takes them to an account-opening page where they can access their account and/or deposit more money. Once the account is opened, funds can be deposited by using a credit card, certified check, money order, or through a wire transfer. When the account has funds, gamblers are ready to play. If they win, the amount of the bet will automatically be credited in their account. If, however, they lose, the loss will be deducted from their account.

While Internet gambling popularity continues to grow, so do the concerns surrounding the business. Questions concerning the legality, potential dangers and moral issues have made this industry a controversial topic. In this paper I will first briefly examine the social/political concerns about online gambling. I will then discuss the two main legal approaches that Canada could take in dealing with online gambling and the issues involved in these approaches.

Social/Political Concerns

As Internet gambling rises in popularity, concern over its potential effects have grown as well. While traditional forms of gambling have been subject to much criticism, online gambling has raised its own specific concerns. Four of these are fraud, gambling by minors, increased addiction, lost state revenue.

Fraud:

The inherent nature of online gambling leads to questions of how gambling on the Web can be properly investigated to prevent the potential for fraud. Without regulation, online gamblers have no way of being sure whether the games are operated fairly. There’s just no way to tell if virtual dice, roulette or cards are rolled, spun or dealt randomly or whether they’re responding to a sequence to cheat customers.

Other opportunities for fraud on gambling sites include abuse of credit card information and failing to pay out any winnings the bettor may accumulate. A typical online casino requires the user to submit credit card information before participating in any of the games. Once this information is transferred it is in the hands of the online company and subject to potential abuse. Furthermore, the payment of winnings has been subject to fraud in the past. When too many gamblers win, online operators have simply shut down their web sites, without paying off the winnings, and moved to a new online gambling site. With the difficulties in identifying and locating site operators, gamblers may be left with no recourse.

Minors:

Whether or not one supports legalized gambling as an acceptable form of entertainment for adults, it is unlikely that anyone could make the same argument for children. Thus a second major concern associated with online gambling involves its availability to minors. Obviously, it is easier for a minor to access online gambling websites than other avenues of gambling. This accessibility is due to the growth of Internet access in homes and the anonymity of Internet users. Arguably, many times it is virtually impossible for online operators of gambling sites to determine the age of the user. With unlimited potential for minors to access these online gambling sites, opponents of this industry argue that the only way to keep children away is to prohibit these sites to everyone.

Addiction:

Gambling addiction is another major concern that arises in the context of Internet gambling. Gambling addiction has always been a concern, however, opponents of online gambling argue that legalized online gambling will lead to an even greater increase in gambling addictions. Unlike traditional casinos where gamblers use real chips or money, online gamblers place bets with the click of the mouse where there is no tangible representation of money:

Video gambling, because of its instant feedback mechanism, is known to addict gamblers faster than other forms of gambling; hence, sociologists and psychiatrists widely refer to it as the crack-cocaine of gambling addiction.

Another reason for the potential of increased gambling addictions is attributable to the ease of access to the activity. Traditional casino gambling requires a gambler to visit the casino’s location where most have limited hours of operation. With the increase of Internet gambling, gamblers can now stay in their own homes and immediately place their bets 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has also been argued that compulsive gambling is more frequent when the player is anonymous. It is sugge