Gambling Legislation Lags: Technology Moves at a Tough Speed to Match

Though technology often moves at a pace much faster than legislation, science is often challenged to keep up with legislation. Often, bills are passed without scientific research performed on the subject of the policy, and legislation is approved based on public opinion. In 2006 the United States Senate voted to make Internet gambling illegal. It passed the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, based on anecdotal evidence and public opinion to support the passing of the legislation. A recent article in The WAGER examined the recent research available to support such legislative decisions.

Current research yields several studies giving information about the prevalence of Internet gambling and disordered Internet gambling. Of 11 empirical studies found on the subject, five provide estimates for the prevalence of Internet gambling. The WAGER also looked at published reports from the four US national surveys that investigated the prevalence of gambling and gambling-related problems, with one study yielding information on rates of Internet gambling. There were also four additional studies found with prevalence rates for internet gambling using a PsycInfo search. In total, ten studies were used to determine prevalence rates in Internet gambling.

The studies investigated showed that in the general population in the United States, the rate of Internet gambling is between 0.3% and 4%.

The studies found that Internet gambling may be higher among low-income respondents, and even higher for casino gamblers. Only three of the ten studies examined provided information about problem gamblings. The Petry (2006) and the Ladd & Petry (2003) found that respondents who participated in Internet gambling were more likely to have gambling problems. Another study by Petry and Mallaya (2004) showed that respondents with disordered gambling patterns were more likely to use Internet gambling than others.

The WAGER cautions that this information is limited in its ability to provide an estimate on the extent of Internet gambling and problematic Internet gambling. The studies examined did not generally use samples that were representative of the general population. The studies reviewed also relied on self-report which can be flawed because of memory-errors.

To be effective for legislators in decision-making, studies must be conducted on the distribution of Internet gambling, the distribution of Internet gambling problems, and the risks of those problems.

The prevalence of Internet gambling and associated problems will only be clear when presented by empirical evidence. Only then can legislators make appropriate decisions to protect the general population and provide useful and beneficial policy.