British Professor Speaks Out Against Online Gambling

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

A British professor gave a speech in the United States where he was critical of online gambling, claiming that it lures underage and women gamblers to wager for real money which creates problem gamblers.

Nottingham Trent University Professor Mark Griffiths gave his remarks at a conference sponsored by the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling this week. In that speech Griffiths said that technology makes gambling more accessible to problem gamblers. He also went on to say that minors may erroneously believe that points they win by gambling on social media sites can be traded in for real money.

"How do we legislate stopping children from gambling on Facebook from home?" Griffiths asked the audience.

The professor also claimed that children are learning how to play poker from free websites and that they will be skilled gamblers by the time they are of legal age to play online.

Another concern area is operators who use mobile devices or interactive television to draw in punters. Griffiths says that those facets of online gambling draw in substantial numbers of women.

He also went on to chastise online gambling as creating problem gamblers because their behaviors are not being observed as they would be at a land casino.

Online punters can gamble while drunk, the professor claims. Most land casinos do not allow visible drunk patrons to place bets. Being able to play at multiple sites simultaneously is another problem area that Griffiths claims adds to the number of problem gamblers.