By Ashley Fultz
Whether it is celebrities trying to win for a charity or professionals playing, it is entertaining the masses. College students are now trying to get a piece of the quick cash and they can through online poker and gambling Web sites.
All it takes to gamble online is access to a credit card and a computer. Students can bet as much or as little as he or she wants while remaining anonymous. What seems to be an innocent game in the beginning can get out of hand.
Nooroulah Nawabi, a sophomore communication and business major, said he believes that the poker shows on television can make students want to gamble.
“They are looking at the money, they think they can do it. They have done it already with their friends at parties, so they will want to go for more,” Nawabi said.
Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the Nation Council on Problem Gambling, stated on http://www.campusprogress.org, “We believe college gambling is on increase and gambling on poker has certainly surged. We believe kids are now betting more money on more intensive types of gambling.”
The Annenberg Public Policy Center stated that monthly card-game gambling among young people was up 20 percent this year from the year before, and according to the National Council on College Gambling, 30 to 45 percent of college students gamble on a weekly basis. Though many people are able to gamble in a controlled way, for 15-20 percent it may create problems.
One example of the online pull to college students is http://www.PartyPoker.com. It is a large online gambling institution targeting college students. The company is now advertising on the popular Web site www.facebook.com. Party Poker offers a $50 bonus to students who join and already have a profile on www.facebook.com. The company believes they will make that money back and so much more.
Another online site, http://www.Absolute Poker.com, states, “College Students: Win Your Tuition” in its advertisements.
What can start out as a fun game can end in a student finding themselves in debt and a possibly addicted. In 2003 the online gambling industry reported $5.5 billion in earnings, up from $4.1 billion in 2002, also stated on http://www.campusprogress.org.
Steven Kovacs, a senior marketing major, said,”I think some of my friends might have a slight addiction to gambling, but they have not gotten themselves in trouble,” adding that he believes his friends only bet with the money they have.
The government has now taken a stance against the online gambling industry and in 2006 the House passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. This bill was passed in hopes of blocking credit card and debit card companies from permitting the flow of dollars to the illegal gambling sites, but it is currently stalled in the Senate.
Visa has already taken action and changed its policies, preventing users from placing online bets with its credit cards.
No state explicitly allows online betting and three states have banned online casinos. Other states like New York have shut down local companies that resided in their state and now all online gambling sites are located off-shore.
Compulsive gambling isn’t the most common topic, anyone can be overlooked when it comes to determining who has a problem.
As stated in “Gambling Takes Hold of Cellege Students,” on http://www.abcnews.go.com, some clear signs of a developing problem are:
?Unexplained need for money
?Possessions missing from the home
?Withdrawal from friends and family
?Missing school or classes
?Frequent anxiety, depression or mood swings
?Excessive watching of tv sports
Sheena Binford, a social worker at the U of L counseling center, said, “Seek help, talk to someone you trust and who would be nonjudgmental.”
For more information on compulsive gambling, contact http://www.gamblersanonymous.org. Contact the U of L counseling center by calling (502)852-6585.
