In the past few months, there have been a number of people battling to ban online gambling. Their argument is that it traps vulnerable people, students, underage gamblers and socially isolated people into a world of debt, but is this the case? Recently, we have heard in the press, the plans of the government to allow a number of large casinos to be built in cities and one super casino in the millennium dome. The thing that they were first working against seemed to suddenly become a desirable prospect when they realised how much money they could make from it i.e. TAXES!!!!

Online casinos do have some security features, for example you have to know at least some details about the card (debit or credit) that you are using and some insist that you are of a legal age, although others don’t bother. Many people use online casinos as a place to socialise and only gamble moderately. Other people with an addictive personality will of course get out of control, but these people would find something to be addicted to no matter what. When they do get into debt and realise they have a problem, they turn around and blame the sites that they are using for “luring” them in.

This may only be my experience, but I have never known of a online casino that forces you to search for their site, makes you enter your bank details and place ridiculously large bets. If people get into debt using these sites, they have no one to blame but themselves and their weak personalities. If online casinos didn’t exist they would only turn to real casinos, or drink, or drugs or some other addiction! As for children using the sites, why aren’t their parents watching them? Why not use parental controls? People who get into trouble using these sites should seek counselling rather than blame everyone else for their problems. There are probably millions of people who manage to make online bets without getting into debt, and becoming addicted, so obviously the sites they use are not to blame for other people’s mistakes!