gambling's bad reputation

Poker, blackjack, roulette, you name it, gambling has made a pretty impressive comeback. Forget the bright lights of distant Las Vegas; with the rise of the Internet, gambling has now moved into the closer confines of the home and more worryingly into the bedrooms of a growing number of students. Today it seems that gambling is separating itself from the rather mundane National Lottery, and into the somewhat more glamourous, yet more risky, arenas of poker and the virtual casino.

Over the last few years, there has been a massive boom in Internet gambling, often with thousands of people across the world playing at any one time. While ten years ago, poker was a game only a talented few could play, restricted to seedy, underground, smoky bars, the Internet has made gambling accessible and now anyone and everyone can become involved, thus increasing the risk to those susceptible to loss and addiction.

Recently concerns have been voiced over the growing number of students in the North-East of England who regularly use gambling as a way to pay off their debts. Surveys suggest that the majority of people in the UK gamble at one time or another in their lives, yet the group most vulnerable to developing a gambling problem is 16-24 year old males, with four per cent of those who have gambled in the last year developing a problem. It seems students with time on their hands and a student loan in the bank have become the target audience of websites such as the well known, www.poker.com

The interest in gambling has reawakened a general interest in games like poker, which is traditionally seen as a game of skill rather than luck. In fact, York University even boasts a Poker Soc, who recently signed up a staggering number of new members at Freshers Fair. However, due to university regulations, the society cannot play with ‘real’ money and instead use chips but no cash. Paul Colley, who founded the society with two friends, says: “The Internet is obviously crucial. It's encouraged gambling in a massive way and revolutionised the way that poker's played”.