J Gambl Stud

DOI 10.1007/s10899-015-9558-6

ORIGINAL PAPER

The Challenge of Online Gambling: The Effect

of Legalization on the Increase in Online Gambling
Addiction

Mariano Chóliz1,2

 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract It is possible that the growth and promotion of online gambling will result in
substantially increased use of these types of games in countries where they are legal. This
may be especially true for young people due to their interest in such games. In this context,
it is important to note that online gambling is more addictive than any other type of game
due its structural characteristics, such as immediacy, accessibility, ease of betting, and so
on. This study examined the effect of online gambling in Spain 2 years after its legal-
ization. The sample included 1277 pathological gamblers in recovery at 26 gambling
addiction treatment centers. Our results showed a significant increase in young patho-
logical gamblers since the legalization of this activity. This is a very relevant issue
because, as in the case of Spain, many countries are currently in process of legalization of
many types of online games. Scientific research can be useful to adapt the adequate
gambling policies in order to prevent the gambling addiction.

Keywords Gambling addiction
Online gambling
Gambling policies

Introduction

In response to a long history of arguments mounted by those in the medical, social, and
scientific fields (Petry 2006a; Potenza 2006), pathological gambling is now included in the
fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in the
same category as drug dependency, alcoholism, and tobacco addiction (APA 2013). The
American Psychiatric Association (APA) provided the following clear justification for this

& Mariano Chóliz

choliz@uv.es
1
Psychology of Addictions, Psychology School, University of Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 21,
46010 Valencia, Spain
2
Member of the Responsible Gambling Advisory Council, Ministry of Finances, Madrid, Spain

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change: ‘‘…behaviors, such as gambling, activate the brain reward system with effects
similar to those of drugs of abuse…gambling disorder symptoms resemble substance use
disorders to a certain extent.’’ Thus, this is a psychological disorder that is directly triggered
by gambling.
Although many variables affect the preference for specific types of gambling (e.g.,
personality or motivational dimensions (Balodis et al. 2013; Binde 2013), cultural or social
conditions (Raylu and Oei 2004; Tanioka 2000), stage of development (Griffiths 2002),
etc.), some forms of gambling are more closely associated with problem gambling than are
others (Abbott and Volberg 1999; Binde 2011). As Griffiths et al. (2009) noted, the
addictive potential of a particular type of gambling depends on: (1) situational aspects, such
as availability (Storer et al. 2009; Welte et al. 2007) or accessibility (Hing and Haw 2009;
Thomas et al. 2008), and (2) structural characteristics, such as the immediacy of rein-
forcement (Chóliz 2010) or the speed and frequency of gambling (Parke and Griffiths 2007).
Similar to the global situation, the appearance and promotion of new online gambling
methods in Spain is sparking a veritable revolution in this sector, not only in terms of
economic activity but also in terms of the patterns of consumption and the profiles of players.
This is highly relevant because online gambling is more addictive than any other type of game
(Griffiths 2003; Griffiths et al. 2006; LaBrie et al. 2007; McBride and Derevensky 2009;
Meyer et al. 2011; Monaghan 2009; Petry 2006b; Smith and Rupp 2005; Wood et al. 2012).
One of the clearest pieces of evidence for this assertion is that online gamblers have higher
rates of gambling addiction compared with traditional gamblers (Williams and Wood 2007;
Wood and Williams 2007a, b, 2009; Wood et al. 2012). Similarly, the introduction of new
media in which to gamble (Internet gambling or mobile phone gambling) has greatly
increased the accessibility of gambling throughout the world; as a result, the number of people
seeking assistance for gambling-related problems has also increased (Abbott et al. 2004).
Online gambling has been legal in Spain since the passage of Act 13/2011, although the
Government did not provide authorization to the gambling companies until June 2012. In
2013, Spanish individuals spent 7.2 billion dollars on online gambling, which accounted
for approximately 18 % of the total amount of money spent on all types of gambling and
constituted more than was spent on casino and bingo games combined (DGOJ 2014). As a
result of the growth in online gaming, traditional gambling companies have been forced to
react by increasing the incentives associated with their games and opening new game
rooms (DGOJ 2014) in which traditional and online games coexist.
In this context, which is similar to that in many others countries, given that the legal-
ization of online gambling is a global phenomenon, it is necessary to understand how the
emergence of online gambling is affecting gambling addiction.
The objective of this research was to analyze the evolution of gambling addiction in
Spain using data obtained from 26 gambling recovery associations across the country for
the purpose of assessing the effect of online gambling on the appearance of new cases of
pathological gambling, especially in young people.

Method

Objective

This work had the main objective of analyzing the effect of new types of games (i.e., online
gambling) on the incidence of pathological gambling, especially in young people, who are

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potentially more vulnerable to this type of gambling because they use such technological
tools more regularly.

Participants

A total of 1277 pathological gamblers aged 16–82 years of age and in recovery (1195
males and 82 females) were recruited from 26 Spanish associations federated under the
Spanish Federation of Gamblers in Recovery (FEJAR).

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1 The number of pathological gamblers seeking treatment due to online

gambling will have increased during the period since licenses for online gambling were
first granted.
Hypothesis 2 This change will be especially significant among young individuals, for
whom online gambling will have become in the most harmful form of gambling.

Procedure

FEJAR is a federation of gambling associations that offers treatment and rehabilitation to

pathological gamblers. Unlike Gamblers Anonymous, the FEJAR associations include
healthcare professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, etc.) who can diag-
nose and treat gambling addictions. These professionals analyzed data from the clinical
interviews with the pathological gamblers described in this study. Sociodemographic and
clinical indicators of pathological gambling were included to identify which type of game
was the principal cause of the disorder (e.g., slot machines, casino games, bingo, etc.) for
each recovering pathological gambler.
Four time periods were distinguished:
Period 1: pathological gamblers who sought assistance before June 1, 2012, the date
on which online gambling companies were authorized to operate in Spain
Period 2: pathological gamblers who sought assistance during the first year (between
06/1/2012 and 05/31/2013)
Period 3: pathological gamblers who sought assistance during the second year
(between 06/1/2013 and 05/31/2014)
Period 4: pathological gamblers who sought assistance during the third year (between
06/1/2014 and 02/15/2015)

Results

A total of 1277 short surveys were completed from among a sample of 1195 (93.6 %)
males and 82 (6.4 %) females. The age range of participants was 16–82 years.
The number of pathological gamblers who began treatment during each period is shown
in Table 1. Those aged \26 years were classified as young gamblers.
The games that represented the main forms of addiction are listed in Table 2. The data
are expressed as percentages; for example, the value 80.26 for slot machines in Period 1
indicates that psychologists or psychiatrists considered slot machines to be the predominant

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Table 1 Pathological gamblers

Total gamblers Young gamblers (percentage of total)
in treatment
Period 1 158 6 (4)
Period 2 235 19 (8)
Period 3 534 61 (11)
Period 4 350 56 (16)

Table 2 Main forms of gambling addiction

Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4

Slot machines 122 (80.26 %) 173 (80.09 %) 385 (72.50 %) 228 (65.71 %)
Casino games 13 (8.23 %) 24 (11.11 %) 38 (7.16 %) 54 (15.56 %)
Bingo 16 (10.13 %) 23 (10.65 %) 39 (7.34 %) 25 (7.20 %)
Lotteries 9 (5.70 %) 6 (2.78 %) 22 (4.14 %) 6 (1.73 %)
Online gambling 4 (2.53 %) 20 (9.26 %) 57 (10.73 %) 84 (24.21 %)

form of gambling addiction in 80.26 % of cases). The number of cases of addiction

associated with each type of game is also shown in Table 2, with percentages presented
within parentheses. The sum of percentages exceeds 100 % because, in certain cases,
pathological gambling was judged to have included more than one type of game.
The percentage of pathological gamblers who engaged in online gambling increased
between periods 1 and 4. The differences between periods 1 (before legalization) and 2
(F = 26.18, p \ .01), between periods 3 and 4 (the present time) (F = 115.39, p \ .001),
and between periods 1 and 4 (F = 263.82, p \ .001) were statistically significant.
In terms of the age of pathological gamblers, the proportion of young people in treat-
ment due to gambling addiction progressively increased as a function of time. The dif-
ferences between periods 1 and 2 (F = 12.26, p \ .001), between periods 2 and 3
(F = 8.32, p \ .001), betweens period 3 and 4 (F = 14.93, p \ .001), and between
periods 1 and 4 (F = 79.10, p \ .001) were statistically significant among those in this age
group.
Finally, the percentage of young pathological gamblers who engaged in online gam-
bling increased from 0 % in period 1 to 44.64 % in period 4 (F = 500.00, p \ .001) (see
Fig. 1). Online gambling is now the predominant form of pathological gambling in
younger people, accounting for 44.64 % of the total number of cases of pathological
gambling in this population.

Discussion and Conclusions

This work analyses how the legalization of online gambling has affected the emergence of
pathological gamblers for whom the cause of the addiction is online gambling. We
hypothesized that: (1) there would be an increasing number of cases of pathological
gambling involving online games in the clinical population (due to the addictive potential
of the online gambling), and (2) this would disproportionately affect young people,
because online gambling targets this group (since young people are more frequent users of
online technologies and find online games are more attractive than traditional games).

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Fig. 1 Main forms of gambling addiction

The results of this brief study are significant because, in all cases, the participants
experienced numerous problems with gambling and were in the process of receiving
treatment for their addiction when the research was carried out. The sample was also
representative of typical gamblers in recovery in Spain, because it was relatively large
(N = 1277) and pathological gamblers were recruited from 26 different gambling recovery
associations situated within the most of the regions that comprise the country.
Moreover, the analysis that identified the games that were most frequently associated
with this disorder was performed using state-of-the-art statistical techniques. Furthermore,
the psychologists or psychiatrists who rendered the pathological gambling diagnoses and
judged the main cause of the disorder in each case were blinded; that is, they did not know
the objective of the research.
There were no differences with respect to the percentage of women in treatment between
the period before the legalization of online gambling and the period after. It should be noted
that males account for 93 % of the total number of pathological gamblers in treatment,
reflecting the existence of gender differences in treatment-seeking pathological gamblers
(Ladd and Petry 2002). Women find it more difficult to seek help for pathological gambling,
which should be a very significant consideration in attempts to understand the problem of
pathological gambling from a gender perspective, because there are clinical gender differ-
ences among pathological gamblers seeking treatment (Echeburúa et al. 2011).
Regarding the main objective of this study, namely to analyze the effect of the legalization
of online gambling on pathological gambling, we observed an increase in cases of gambling
addiction associated with the promotion of these new modalities. Although the most harmful
game in the general population remains slot machines, online gambling already surpasses all
of the other types of game (bingo, casino, etc.), and this occurred within the first months of its
legalization. Online gambling represents the main cause of pathological gambling in 24.21 %
of pathological gamblers in recovery. This is a remarkable result for two reasons. First,
pathological gamblers typically seek professional help many years after the appearance of the
disorder (i.e., 6–8 years after onset). However, in the case of online gambling, the prevalence
of the disorder increased markedly within only a few months. Furthermore, the proportion of
online gamblers reached a level not seen for any other game aside from slot machines, which
represents the main cause of gambling addiction in Spain (there are machines not only in
gaming halls and casinos but in almost all bars, pubs, and restaurants).
Second, as predicted, this problem is especially serious among young people. This is
highly relevant for two reasons. First, the incidence of young pathological gamblers in
recovery in Spain increased markedly, from 3.8 % (before the legalization of online

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gambling) to 16 % (only 2 years later). Moreover, online gambling is currently the main
form of pathological gambling among people younger than 26 years of age; 44.64 % of all
young pathological gamblers express the disorder through online gambling, surpassing slot
machines (33.92 %).
All of these results highlight that it is imperative to regulate online gambling and
employ effective public health policies to prevent the appearance of gambling addiction.
We believe that these data are globally generalizable, because online gambling is practiced
all over the world.
Several limitations of the current study should be taken into account in interpreting the
results.
First, this research was not conducted as an epidemiological study with the aim of
determining the prevalence of gambling disorder in society. Although we can infer that the
number of pathological gamblers probably increased after the legalization of online
gambling, due to an increase in the types of gambling on offer and the availability of
games, this cannot be asserted with any certainty, due to the lack of a national survey of
pathological gambling in Spain to establish prevalence rates.
Second, even before licenses were granted to online gambling companies, some of these
companies had already been operating in Spain for several years; however, the size and
development of this industry during the years prior to legalization remains unknown.
After the granting of licenses, 53 companies with 86 licenses offered online gambling in
Spain. Since legalization, publicity and marketing activities have greatly increased, and
online gambling is now widely promoted on TV, the radio and the Internet. In fact, online
gambling companies spend approximately 61 % of gambling’s markup on publicity (DGOJ
2014).
Therefore, we suggest that this brief report could serve to inform health policies in
countries where online gambling is currently in the process of being legalized and to
encourage governments to implement effective gambling-related policies based on the
principles of responsible gambling (Blaszczynski et al. 2011), or on the ethical gambling
(Chóliz 2014).

Acknowledgments I have not any funding by part of companies. This research has not any commercial
interest. This work has been possible by the agreement between the Spanish Federation of Gamblers in
Recovery (FEJAR) and the University of Valencia.

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