According to a recent study, mobile gambling apps are way more capable of exposing people to gambling-related harm when compares to fixed-odds betting terminals. The study explains that is especially true for problem gamblers and gambling addicts who are now able to easily get opportunities to lose money using their smartphones.
Mobile casino games and apps have grown in popularity over the past decade primarily due to the increased use of smart devices and the internet in all parts of the globe. While these developments are indeed great for most gamers, the gambling operators and the authorities that receive tax revenue from them, mobile gambling presents a new set of challenges that are even much harder to solve. For instance, not only do these apps offer high-stakes gaming services to any user with a smartphone, but their video game-like gameplay also portrays them as completely harmless activities. In addition to that, most, if not all, online gaming operators include introductory offers that are meant to entice players, including those at risk of developing gambling-related problems, to sign up on the gaming platforms.
Since time immemorial, many gambling watchdogs and responsible gambling advocates have focused more on fixed-odds betting terminals that are usually found in high street bookmakers. As a result, governments and regulators like the UK Gambling Commission have targeted the betting terminal with their rules and regulations which can be said to be rather harsh – in the UK, the government slashed the maximum stake in the fixed-odds betting terminals by whopping 98 percent from a £100 to £2. While this new rule on maximum stakes is yet to be implemented, it proves that the terminals are being treated as the biggest cause or gambling problems.
Gambling Apps Are Way Worse, Apparently
As obvious as it may seem, not many people have grasped the potential of mobile and smartphones to cause problems. With so many people in the world already using and carrying mobile phones wherever they go, it is quite easy to see that gambling apps are certainly more problematic. This gets much worse for people that are psychologically predisposed to gambling addiction as all it takes to gamble is an internet connection – its almost assured that they will be smartphone owners.
For a long time, responsible gambling campaigners have advocated for massive overhauls in the country’s regulatory framework. This is because, according to the authors of the report, mobile gambling is more dangerous than fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) primarily because of their ubiquitous nature. In addition to that, there are currently close to zero restrictions on mobile gambling because since the gaming operators are usually based on other jurisdictions.
