A study by Australia’s Southern Cross University, exploring the relationship between online gambling and “disordered gambling”—a newly defined medical condition—found that “internet gambling does not cause gambling problems in, and of, itself.”
‘Online Gambling Addiction: the Relationship between Internet Gambling and Disordered Gambling,” was published in April by the Centre for Gambling Education & Research, Southern Cross University, Australia.
The study found that problem gambling appears to manifest itself primarily in live gambling, and that problem gamblers then become internet gamblers.
“Evidence is emerging that internet gambling is not only not predictive of gambling problems,” said the paper’s author, Dr. Sally Gainsbury. “But that when other variables are controlled for individuals who gamble, online may have lower rates of gambling problems.”
Though internet gambling does not appear to be a significant cause of disordered gambling, the “use of Internet gambling is more common among highly involved gamblers and for some Internet gamblers, this medium appears to significantly contribute to gambling problems,” she said.
