Problem Gambling and Online Gambling

Online Gambling involves playing games like casino, sports betting, and poker where you can use real money to wager. It has a variety of risks and dangers, including financial problems, emotional stress, social isolation, decline in work or school performance, health issues, legal troubles and relationship conflicts. It can also lead to addiction. There are many ways to deal with gambling problems, including identifying the problem, self-excluding from gambling platforms, using content blockers, limiting access to funds, managing triggers, finding alternative activities and getting professional help.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shift from land-based gambling venues to online casinos and games, and the rise of iGaming has been rapid. While there is concern that it may increase the incidence of problem gambling, the latest research suggests that this has not been the case so far.

In addition, there is considerable variation between studies with respect to the factors influencing gambling and problematic gambling. While personal factors are well-documented, few articles pay attention to the importance of context and relational variables. Moreover, the few articles that have investigated the influence of life contexts indicate that they play a major role in predicting gambling behaviour. For example, in the study of Edgren et al. (2014c), females were more likely to spend on gambling than men, and they were also more likely to be classified as problematic gamblers. In the study of Khazaal (2017), women were also more likely to be in the most problematic cluster.