• Online Gambling Effects On Society In America
• Online Gambling Effects On Society Organizations
• Online Gambling Effects On Society Of America

The effects of problem gambling on your life can be very serious from a financial point of view. However, the impacts of problem gambling should not be viewed in purely financial terms. Once gambling becomes a problem the negative impacts on your life can cost you more than money. The isolation of the problem gambler.

The rising popularity of the different forms of Internet gambling like online poker, bingo and online casinos is greatly affecting society. Internet gambling is a multi-billion dollar market and criminal activity may occur when using the net to gamble (keep in mind that internet gambling is illegal ). The impact of gambling advertising: Problem gamblers report stronger impacts on involvement, knowledge, and awareness than recreational gamblers. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission states that analysis of the economic effects of gambling is “poorly developed and quite incomplete.” The commission notes that the social costs of expanding gambling must be considered in any assessment of gambling’s net benefit.

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Published: Wednesday, 16 April 2014 by

Anyone who gets caught up in the downward spiral of problem gambling finds only too soon that the negative impact on his or her life can be devastating. Finding money to gamble is usually the most immediate and obvious issue which brings with it enough problems, but in addition an all consuming compulsion to gamble at any cost leads to difficulties which affect employment, quality of life, family relationships and mental and physical health.

And of course, problem gambling doesn't just affect the individual. It's estimated that for every problem gambler at least 10 other family members, friends and colleagues are also directly affected.The negative impact on wider society is only just beginning to be recognised and an analysis of those problem gamblers in the Gordon Moody Association residential treatment programme during 2012 and 2013 gives the following insights:

Financial cost

The amounts gambled away varied between £5,000 and £3m. Of those gambling in the range £10,000 - £50,000, 59 people claimed to have gambled away a total amount of £1,225,194 with an average amount of £20,766 gambled per person.

Even for those with a job this is a sizeable amount to have to find on top of living expenses and, since the majority were unemployed (65% in 2013, 78% in 2012), all this gambling money had to be funded from other sources - borrowing from family and friends, high street money lenders, pawnshops and loan sharks.

Many Gordon Moody Association residents also report that families remortgage their houses and go into debt themselves in order to try and help sort out the problems of their loved one.

Many problem gamblers get into huge debt and often resort to illegal activities to fund their addiction including stealing from their loved ones and their employers as well as turning to other illegal ways of making money to gamble.

Those who are unable to cope with their debts may choose or be forced into bankruptcy and society then carries the rest of the debt. If court costs are involved this adds to the total financial cost.

Those who are unemployed and unable to work due to their addiction are surviving on state benefits which at the very minimum amount to £57.35 per week (Jobseekers Allowance) and may amount to a great deal more. Assuming six months unemployment and at the basic rate of benefit this is an additional cost of £1,491 per person for 18 - 24s and £1,882 for adults who are 25+.

Criminality

If a problem gambler turns to crime then police time, court costs, probation services and prison services and other support services need to be factored into the cost to society. The average annual overall cost of a prison place in England and Wales for the financial year 2011-12 was £37,649 (NOMS).

Health services

Whilst problem gambling has not until recently been identified officially as a health issue and little or no funding is currently available for treatment from the NHS, health services are often involved as many problem gamblers develop physical and mental health issues as a result of stress and anxiety and the effects of other risk taking behaviours.

The effects on children

Sadly many family relationships breakdown as a result of problem gambling and children are the innocent victims not only because of the emotional distress created within the home but also often the loss of contact with their parent who leaves and the poverty which can result because of the behaviour of the problem gambler.

With this in mind it is clear to see that the issues and costs associated with any problem gambler can extend far beyond the basic financial cost and helping the recovery of one individual will have a much wider positive social impact.

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The online casino industry is growing rapidly. There are tons of online casinos available for punters to wager at. All of these casinos have very alluring offers aimed to entice gamblers to sign up and become a customer. While gambling is seen as a relaxing activity, it can have detrimental effects on society.

What exactly are these negative impacts? In this article we pinpoint what they are, and how they can ultimately cripple societies.

#1: Money Laundering

Money laundering is a criminal activity where profits from illegal activities are transferred into supposedly ‘legal assets’. While security is tight, both at online and offline casinos, there is no way in knowing what the true source of the money is that players deposit into their accounts. This makes gambling at online casino susceptible to money launderers and attracting criminal activity.

#2: Rigged Games

While there are loads of reputable online casinos out there, there are also some that aren’t. The casino industry is very lucrative and illegal casino operators will stop at nothing to ensure they don’t lose too much or lose money at all. The reputable online casinos make use of RNGs (Random Number Generators) to ensure games aren’t rigged. Rigged games can lead to even more devastation to those gambling.

#3: Problem Gambling

Frequenting online casinos can lead to addiction, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Not only can gambling addiction lead to divorce, but it can also lead to a life of crime. Those who are desperate to finance their addiction might even resort to stealing money from friends or even from other members of the community. Problem gambling can be a difficult issue for both the gambler and the community.

#4: Computer Hacking

Computer hacking is not only dangerous in general, but it is even more so for those with loads of online casino accounts. Hackers will stop at nothing until they get what they want. And if they are out to get your casino account’s money, they’ll get it. Hackers can be drawn to hacking into online casinos as huge amounts are being deposited and withdrawn from their accounts on a daily basis.

Online Gambling Effects On Society In America

#5: Broken Families

Online Gambling Effects On Society Organizations

Online casinos, as we’ve mentioned, can lead to problem gambling. This can in turn lead to divorce and broken families. The result of this is children being torn from mothers or fathers, and their futures may even look bleak as this could have a negative impact on how they exceed in school. This leads to more heartbreak and devastation for parents, loved ones and communities who are affected by it.

Online Gambling Effects On Society Of America

As you can see there are a lot of negative impacts of online casinos on society as a whole. While it does not mean to say that the industry itself is evil or bad, it is important to be aware of how it can impact our communities.