There have been a lot of questions around the severity of gambling online compared to gambling in a casino. One argument is that there is no way online gambling is as bad as actual gambling because a lot of the times, the person does not play for real cash. Although there is the option to play for real money, some people still choose to just play for fun. It may be hard to believe, but the majority of people will play for real money at least once in their lives. Like playing in a casino, all it takes is one win to get someone hooked.
Is internet casino gambling as addictive as gambling at a casino? The answer to this question is yes. In fact, it could possibly be more addictive. Because people don’t have to play for real money, they never have to worry about losing all the money in their pockets because they aren’t actually using it. For example, the website freeslots.com is a site that one starts off with a certain number of chips and can play from there. When they get low on chips, they simply hit refill and get more. People are addicted to winning, and when they have nothing to lose, they can play for as long as they want to.
For those who do play for real cash, it not only becomes a silly habit but a full grown addiction. Most sites are set up via credit card and bank account, so the player can take money right from their accounts and use it. The problem is before they even realize it; they’ve spent all the money in their accounts on this silly website. When asked about online gambling addictions, a man who will remain nameless responded: “it was unreal how much I wanted to play. I just kept hitting the withdrawal button until it came up insufficient funds. That’s when I realized I had just spent my whole pay check on this website and now did not have the money to pay my bills.”
Even if the player doesn’t gamble with real money while playing Internet Slot Machines, it still sucks up all the time that one has. A mother of four battled with a gambling addiction for years; however, her addiction wasn’t losing all the money to a site; it was spending all of her time on a computer instead of taking care of her kids. “Before I knew it, I was always in front of our computer. I just kept winning and getting more excited about each win. I forgot to pick up my daughter from school and when she decided to walk home, she was abducted. I lost my eight year old because I couldn’t move from an online poker game.”
This is a harsh reality to face, but it’s good for informing people of how real online gambling addictions are. The signs are easy to see: a usually tidy house looks like a hurricane hit it all the time, the person seems to always be at the computer, and unfortunately, neglects their children’s needs. If you know someone dealing with this, try to get them the help they need.