This laissez faire attitude could lead to problems. Many experts warn that the convenience, easy access and social acceptability of on-line gambling make it more dangerous than traditional gambling, especially for teens and young adults. Dr. Jeffery Derevensky, co-director of the Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic at McGill University, found that four to eight percent of kids in the US and Canada have serious gambling problems. Another ten to fifteen are at risk of becoming pathological gamblers. Also, youth who played video games were at a higher risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Most pathological gamblers start gambling before the age of fifteen, some as young as nine or ten.
The 1997 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts found that 72 percent of 18-24 year olds used computers an average of four hours per day. A study by Dr. Peter Shizgal at Concordia University, published in the May issue of the journal Neuron, found gambling affects the same regions of the brain as cocaine or morphine. Experts expect the number of on-line gamblers to grow from 4 million in 1999, to 15 million by 2004. With the advance of the wireless web, some believe that figure could double. In the end, it might be the credit card companies who set the regulations.