Online gambling is an increasingly popular form of entertainment that can be very addictive. Many people find it hard to control their urges and end up spending more money than they intended. This can lead to serious financial problems, including debt and bankruptcy. Other problems include declining work or academic performance, depression, and social isolation. In severe cases, some people even resort to illegal activities like theft or fraud to fund their gambling habits. This can have serious legal consequences, such as jail time and fines.
The prevalence of online gambling has been increasing since its introduction in the 1990s. Today, it is available in more than 85 countries worldwide. Online gambling includes games of chance, such as casino games, sports betting, and poker. It also includes skill-based games, such as fantasy sports and daily fantasy sports. While most states prohibit online gambling, a few allow it for certain types of games.
In order to understand the impact of online gambling, researchers have examined the factors that influence an individual’s risk for gambling addiction. The objective of this review is to synthesize and systematize current knowledge about the risk and protective factors for gambling addiction in an online context. To accomplish this, two comparisons were made: the first comparing offline and online gamblers; the second comparing online nonproblematic gamblers to online problematic and pathological gamblers. The results of these two comparisons provided evidence that both online and offline gamblers may have different factors that contribute to their risk for developing a problem.