The Growth of Internet Gambling and Implications for Regulation and Harm Minimization

Running head: CLUB AND GAMING MANAGEMENT
The growth of Internet gambling and implications for regulation and harm minimization
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CLUB AND GAMING MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Gambling is one of the favorite past habits of the human beings and the earliest
recorded instance of the same dates back to the ancient times (Auer & Griffiths, 2014).
Human beings have a knack for gambling and the important mantra of gambling which states
“win all or lose everything” is the fact which specifically appeals to the psychology of the
human beings (Gainsbury et al., 2015). Furthermore, in the earlier times, it was seen that
gambling or betting was related to almost all the walks of life however in the modern-era it is
seen that the process of gambling has been narrowed down to the various kinds of sports as
well as entertainment. However, it needs to be noted that even in the 21st century gambling is
considered to be an illegal activity in the majority of the nations and as a matter of fact there
are very few nations like the United States of America, Australia, South Africa and others
where gambling is allowed albeit in limited proportion (Thomas & Thomas, 2015). In this
regard, the nation of Australia is an important since the national government of the nation has
allowed the machinery of gambling in its territory because of the high number of people of
the nation who like to indulge in the same (Blaszczynski, Gainsbury & Karlov, 2014).
However, it is seen that the effective management of the process is increasing becoming a
difficult one for the nation and the nation at the same time is trying to come up with ways
through which the harm caused by the institution of gambling can be mitigated or reduced in
an effective manner (Auer & Griffiths, 2014). Thus, the promotion as well as the effective
use of responsible gambling is certainly the right course action for the gambling industry.
This essay will discuss about the growth of Internet gambling and its implications for
regulation and harm minimization.
Gambling in Australia
An interesting fact to note regarding the nation of Australia is the fact that more than
80% of the people of the nation indulge in one form of gambling or the other
(Missionaustralia.com.au, 2018). As a matter of fact, gambling is seen as one of the most
entertaining pastime activities of the people of the nation. Furthermore, the machinery of
gambling generates a substantial amount of revenue and according to a statistics the process
of gambling generates more than $4.7 billion each year (Missionaustralia.com.au, 2018).
However, at the same time, it is seen that the machinery is causing much harm to the society
as well. The most adverse effects of the process of gambling are visible in the spheres of

2CLUB AND GAMING MANAGEMENT
public health, for example, recent research works suggests that the people are addicted to
gambling experience a high rate of depression, anxiety and other forms of mental problems
(Justice.nt.gov.au, 2018). In addition to this, serious level of indulgence in gambling, can also
the physical health of the individuals and in severe cases it is seen that the concerned
individual starts to lose his or her appetite and thereby the body degrades (Justice.nt.gov.au,
2018). Moreover, the adverse effects of gambling are even visible in the national economy of
the nation as well since it seen that a substantial amount of the national capital goes in
various kinds of gambling and betting activities which in turn is not does not nourishes the
national economy by means of taxes (Ladouceur et al., 2018). It is pertinent to note that the
capital generated by these gambling activities usually goes to enhance the amount of black
money held by the people. In this light, it becomes important for the national government to
mitigate the evil of gambling and also to device means whereby it can regulate the harm
caused by the process. In this regard, the “Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016”,
which was an amendment of the “Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 (IGA)” is an important
one to note (Missionaustralia.com.au, 2018).
The national government does have an important role to play in the process of the
promotion of responsible gambling. Furthermore, it can be said that the national government
as well as the various clubs and also the casinos are responsible for the job of the promotion
and also the practice of responsible gambling in the nation. This will help them to reduce the
harmful or the negative aspects of the process of gambling and will at the same time help
them to use the process of gambling in a constructive manner. Thus, it can be said that the
right course of action for the parties involved in the process would be to promote responsible
gambling.
Internet or Online Gambling
According to article, the adults in the nation of Australia spend more amount of per
capita capital on the various gambling activities than in any other nations of the world
(Missionaustralia.com.au, 2018). In addition to this, more than 80% of the people of the
nation indulge in gambling activities atleast once a year (Missionaustralia.com.au, 2018).
Furthermore, online gambling is an incredibly popular pastime activity in the nation and it is
because of this fact that the nation was once called “The Lucky Country” (BBC.Com, 2018).
Moreover, unlike the other nations where gambling is just restricted to the various casinos, in
the nation of Australia, the process of gambling is even related to the diverse sports like