Online Survey Aims to Stop
Pathological Gambling
It may be a little too late for some,
yet any gamblers can now fill out an online survey
to help themselves identify addictive gambling
conditions. eCOGRA, with the help of the
University of Chicago, has drawn up a scientific
survey which rates gamblers based on their answers
to a few intricate questions. The survey does not
disclose personal information and will not be used
to target problem gamblers, according to the
survey's results. Rather, it is intended to
help each individual come to full awareness about
their gambling habits and tendencies.
The eCommerce
and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance group, or
eCOGRA, said they were going to get tougher on
preventing underage and problem gambling in
accordance with the UK Gambling Act recently passed.
Well, it seems they are keeping to their word, for
already have they released an online survey drawn up
at the University of Chicago, Illinois. The
survey, which has been prepared in a scientific
manner, intends to help gambling addicts identify
their problems, and consequently get help. It
is strictly voluntary, and will not be used to ban
specific players or track their gambling ventures in
any manner whatsoever.
According
to eCOGRA, the questionnaire is highly evolved, and
simply helps gamblers identify addictive traits as
well as any pathological conditions they may find
themselves in. Questions take into account
deep seeded psychological matters, and are
structured in a way that tallies points to determine
whether a gambler is pathological or not.
Critics of the survey say that although it has good
intentions, and is a step up from previous
prevention tactics, it does not catch the problem in
time. According to Gamcare, which does
extensive research on problem gambling, when
gambling addicts are at the pathological stage, they
are at the point of being in pure denial. The
survey aims to help gamblers identify pathological
conditions, which is non-realistic since the denial
is already in motion.
Both eCOGRA
and Gamcare are concerned about problem gambling
amongst online bettors, for the ease of going online
is terribly more convenient than walking into a
casino. Furthermore, gambling from home
creates a high degree of isolation, which can be
very dangerous for a pathological gambler. In
addition to the survey, eCOGRA recently organized
the first ever educational forum on problem gambling
- bringing together online casino operators from
around the globe. Tremendous progress was made
in training casino personnel to identify both
underage and problem gamblers. A new condition
for receiving the eCOGRA Seal of Approval consists
of taking
stricter measures to identify underage gamblers.
In this case, casinos must check a member's
application statistics against Government records,
such as birth certificates. So far the system
has some kinks in it, but hopes to develop in
efficiency as the new regulations become more
mainstream.
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