Internet Gambling 10 Times More Dangers Than Other Addictions

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent, The Guardian

Researchers discovered that while only 0.5 per cent of people who gambled offline could be considered to have a problem, five per cent of those who used the internet were addicted.

It also found that internet gamblers were more likely to be single, male, young and to drink and smoke more than they should.

However, they were also more likely to be in professional or managerial jobs than other types of gamblers.

Earlier this year the Conservatives claimed that the number of people addicted to gambling had increased dramatically since the Government relaxed the rules on advertising for web gaming sites.

Almost a quarter of a million more people gambled online last year compared to 2007, when the rules changed to allow advertising for the first time, figures released by the party show.

The Gambling Commission estimates that 7.4 per cent of online gamers go on to develop an addiction.

In 2008 3.36 million adults, or 5.6 per cent of the population, played a gambling game online.

The latest findings, by researchers at Nottingham Trent University, were presented at the British Psychological Society's Social Psychology Conference in Sheffield.

The study looked at more than 9,000 gamblers and assessed their lifestyles as well as methods of gambling.