Essays

Online gambling has been a growing problem on college campuses. Most dorms are wired, letting students bet in the privacy of their rooms' virtual anonymity. With nothing more than a credit card, the possibility exists for any student

athlete to place a wager via the Internet and then attempt to influence the outcome of the contest while participating on the court or playing field. Additionally, students are surrounded with offers to sign up for credit cards from representatives on campuses and solicited with email from Internet sports bookie sites.

There is a major issue to be dealt with, which is spreading with little regulatory oversight and no effective screens against participation by the young and the vulnerable. Internet gambling represents one of the fastest growing segments of online activity with more than seven hundred web sites now providing users the opportunity to wager everything from casino games.

There are a number of reasons why this booming industry should provoke more concern among policy makers. Online gambling promotes addiction through easy accessibility and presents great potential for criminal abuse. It is widely available to children and teens, increasing the chances that underage players will participate and become hooked. Internet gambling poses particular hazards for adult pathological gamblers and has the potential to increase

greatly the number of people with gambling problems. Online gambling provides an opportunity for illegal activity, including money laundering and fraud. In addition, online gambling offers none of the potential economic benefits of

casino gambling.

There are also other ways to control online gambling, if not to make it fully illegal. The government could somehow control how much one bets by setting limits on people and by keeping track how much is being spent. There a gambler has to register with the online casino, provide bank account information, and fax in several forms of identification. Most of their companies also call patrons to verify the information, and to catch sneaky children who try to register under their parents' names. The online casinos allow customers to set a limit on the amount of money they can wager in a week, month, or year. Raising the limit entails a waiting period. Many people gamble on the Internet every day. Online gambling promotes addiction and presents great potential for criminal abuse. Therefore, online gambling should be made completely illegal or should be controlled in some manner.