Exploring Internet Gambling Policy, Prevention and Treatment

Internet gambling has emerged as the most radical change to gambling in recent years. Interactive gambling opportunities using computers and wireless devices have transformed the ways in which players engage in gambling. The technological advances that have allowed gambling to expand across physical borders and beyond venues has had a profound impact on gambling policy, regulation, research, treatment and prevention strategies. This book provides a compilation of current research findings by prominent international researchers, including the incidence of Internet gambling, how online gambling is used, sub-groups of online gamblers, and the difference between Internet and non-Internet gamblers in the general population and among treatment-seekers.

This book is highly relevant for researchers, students, regulators, policy makers, gambling industry operators, treatment providers and community groups interested in research findings relevant to online gambling. It was originally published as a special issue of International Gambling Studies.

1. Introduction: Exploring the opportunities and impacts of Internet gambling Sally Gainsbury 2. Early detection items and responsible gambling features for online gambling Joerg Haefeli, Suzanne Lischer andJuerg Schwarz 3. Online self-guided interventions for the treatment of problem gambling Sally Gainsbury and Alex Blaszczynski 4. Internet gambling policy in critical comparative perspective: The effectiveness of existing regulatory frameworks Sally Gainsbury and Robert T. Wood 5. Are online pathological gamblers different from non-online pathological gamblers on demographics, problem gambling severity, psychopathology and personality characteristics? Susana Jiménez-Murcia, Randy Stinchfield, Fernando Fernández-Aranda, Juan José Santamaría, Eva Penelo, Roser Granero, Mónica Gómez-Peña, Neus Aymamí, Laura Moragas, Antonio Soto and José Manuel Menchón 6. Defining the online gambler and patterns of behaviorur integration: Evidence from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 Heather Wardle, Alison Moody, Mark Griffiths, Jim Orford and Rachel Volberg 7. Incidence of Internet gambling in Sweden: Results from the Swedish longitudinal gambling study Jessika Svensson and Ulla Romild 8. Analysis of casino online gambling data in relation to behavioural risk markers for high-risk gambling and player protection Simo Dragicevic, Bet Buddy, George Tsogas and Aleksander Kudic 9. Analyses of multiple types of online gambling within one provider: an extended evaluation framework of actual online gambling behaviour Tim Brosowski, Gerhard Meyer and Tobias Hayer 10. Cognitive distortions as a problem gambling risk factor in Internet gambling Terri-Lynn MacKay and David C. Hodgins

Sally Gainsbury is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Gambling Education and Research at Southern Cross University, Australia. Dr. Gainsbury is Associate Editor of International Gambling Studies and serves on the board of the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors and the International Society of Managing & Technical Editors.

Alex Blaszczynski is Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Director of the Gambling Clinic and Research Unit at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is Editor of International Gambling Studies and has published widely on many aspects of the psychology of gambling and responsible gambling strategies.