Online gambling has been growing rapidly, fueled by societal approval, legalization, easy access, celebrity endorsements and advertising. While some governments have banned or tried to ban it, others are recognizing the benefits of regulating Internet gambling in order to minimize harm and maximize revenue. This growth has led to the development of many different online casino options. However, with more people playing online, the risk of fraud increases. Fortunately, there are ways to keep your account safe from online gambling scams.
To help reduce online gambling-related harms, it is important to understand the mechanisms of onset and maintenance of problems. This article reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the risk and protective factors for online gambling among adults. Specifically, the articles reviewed focused on the comparison of online gamblers with offline gamblers, as well as the identification of early risk indicators for problem gambling.
The findings of the review show that factors at both individual and environmental level are associated with gambling, but only few studies have investigated contextually-specific variables such as the university context or academic issues. It is also notable that there was a general homogeneity of results regarding the characteristics of online and offline gamblers, with high impulsivity being the most frequently reported characteristic. Personality traits are less studied, but a low degree of sociability and frugality are associated with online problematic gamblers. This is a critical area for future research. In addition, longitudinal and more representative samples are needed to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between variables.
