Debate: Behavioural addictions and technology use – risk and policy recommendations for problematic online gambling and gaming

Advancements in technologies and their mass-scale adoption throughout the United States create rapid changes in how people interact with the environment and each other and how they live and work. As technologies become commonplace in society through increased availability and affordability, several problems may emerge, including disparate use among groups, which creates divides in attainment of the beneficial aspects of a technology’s use and coinciding mental health issues. This chapter briefly overviews new technologies and associated emerging applications in information communication technologies, social media networks, video games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and online gambling, then examines the prevalence of use among the general population and its subgroups and further discusses potential links between mental health issues associated with each technology and implications of overuse.

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Illegal Gambling and Its Operation via the Darknet and Bitcoin: An Application of Routine Activity Theory

The International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime ◽

10.52306/03010220htli7653 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 3-23

Author(s):

Sinyong Choi ◽

◽

Kyung-Shick Choi ◽

Yesim Sungu-Eryilmaz ◽

Hee-Kyung Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Empirical Studies ◽

Routine Activity Theory ◽

Online Gambling ◽

Routine Activity ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

Illegal Gambling ◽

Illegal Activities ◽

Surface Web ◽

Gambling Activities

The Darknet and Bitcoins have been widely utilized by those who wish to anonymously perform illegal activities in cyberspace. Restricted in many countries, gambling websites utilize Bitcoin payments that allow users to freely engage in illegal gambling activities with the absence of a formal capable guardian. Despite the urgency and limited knowledge available to law enforcement regarding this issue, few empirical studies have focused on illegal gambling websites. The current study attempts to examine the characteristics and operations of online gambling websites on both the Darknet and Surface Web, which allow Bitcoin payments. The findings suggest that both websites on the Surface Web and Darknet have similar and distinctive features that attract and encourage online users to engage in extensive illegal gambling activities and potentially other illegal activities as well. The study concludes with policy recommendations to remedy the issue of online gambling.

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A speed-of-play limit reduces gambling expenditure in an online roulette game

10.31234/osf.io/cv3yj ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Philip Warren Stirling Newall ◽

Leonardo Weiss-Cohen ◽

Henrik Singmann ◽

William Paul Boyce ◽

Lukasz Walasek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Structural Characteristics ◽

Unintended Consequences ◽

Online Gambling ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Online Experiments ◽

Policy Proposal ◽

Marginal Increase ◽

Gambling Expenditure ◽

Casino Game

UK online casino games are presently not subject to any limitations on stakes or speed-of-play. Two policy recommendations have been recently put forward: One proposal is to limit the maximum bet to £2, and another is to ensure that no online casino game can be played faster than its in-person equivalent. However, any policy proposal may be ineffective or have unintended consequences. This research experimentally investigated the speed-of-play proposal, in an experiment with 1,002 UK online roulette players, incentivized payouts, and £4 endowments. Participants played on a commercial online roulette game, which was slowed-down in one condition to enforce a speed-of-play limit of one spin every 60 seconds. The preregistered analysis plan showed no effect of the speed-of-play limit on participants’ choice to gamble at all, a marginal reduction in participants’ probability to gamble everything, and a credible reduction in the proportion of endowments gambled amongst participants who gambled some of their money. Expenditure reductions occurred via a credible reduction in the number of spins played that outweighed a marginal increase in per-spin bet sizes. This research shows how speed-of-play limits for online casino games may be effective in reducing gambling expenditure, and how the structural characteristics of online gambling games can be explored via ecologically-valid online experiments.

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Aging and assistive technology use

Technology and Disability ◽

10.1016/s1055-4181(96)00198-7 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 6 (1-2) ◽

pp. 63-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

William C. Mann

Keyword(s):

Assistive Technology ◽

Technology Use

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Internet Addiction: Ein Literaturüberblick

SUCHT - Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Praxis / Journal of Addiction Research and Practice ◽

10.1024/suc.2002.48.1.29 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 29-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Ralf Demmel

Keyword(s):

World Wide Web ◽

Internet Addiction ◽

World Wide ◽

Psychische Störungen ◽

Online Gambling ◽

Online Relationships ◽

E Mail

Zahlreiche Falldarstellungen sowie die Ergebnisse einer Reihe empirischer Untersuchungen lassen vermuten, dass die exzessive Nutzung von Onlinediensten mit erheblichen Beeinträchtigungen der Lebensführung einhergehen kann. In der Literatur wird oftmals auf Ähnlichkeiten zwischen der sog. Internet Addiction einerseits und Abhängigkeitserkrankungen oder Störungen der Impulskontrolle andererseits hingewiesen. Die Validität des Konstrukts ist jedoch umstritten. In Abhängigkeit von der jeweiligen Symptomatik können verschiedene Subtypen der Internet»sucht« beschrieben werden:<OL><LI>addiction to online sex, <LI>addiction to online gambling, <LI>addiction to online relationships, <LI>addiction to web cruising and e-mail checking und <LI>addiction to multi-user dungeons.</OL> Zur Prävalenz der Internet»sucht« in der Allgemeinbevölkerung liegen bislang keine zuverlässigen Schätzungen vor. Verschiedene Personenmerkmale (Alter, Geschlecht, psychische Störungen etc.) sowie spezifische Merkmale der verschiedenen Onlinedienste (Anonymität, Ereignishäufigkeit etc.) scheinen das Risiko einer exzessiven und somit möglicherweise schädlichen Nutzung zu erhöhen. Die vorliegenden Daten sind widersprüchlich und erlauben lediglich vorläufige Schlussfolgerungen, da sich die Soziodemographie der Nutzer innerhalb weniger Jahre deutlich verändert hat und darüber hinaus hinsichtlich der Nutzung des World Wide Web nach wie vor erhebliche geographische Ungleichheiten vorausgesetzt werden müssen. Vor dem Hintergrund erheblicher Forschungsdefizite einerseits und zahlreicher »Schnittstellen« andererseits erscheint es naheliegend und dringend notwendig, dass die Forschung auf diesem Gebiet künftig in weitaus stärkerem Maße als bislang von den Fortschritten anderer Disziplinen profitiert. Aufgabe empirischer Forschung sollte neben der Entwicklung reliabler und valider Erhebungsinstrumente und der Durchführung aufwändiger Längsschnittstudien an repräsentativen Zufallsstichproben die Formulierung evidenz-basierter Behandlungsempfehlungen sein.

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