Internet gambling is on the rise in Australia according to new research from the University of Sydney and Southern Cross University, with factors such as convenience and ease of access contributing to its popularity.

Dr. Sally Gainsbury completed a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology and PhD at the University of Sydney, supervised by Professor Alex Blaszczynski. Her research has focussed on responsible gambling strategies, particularly for electronic gaming machines and online gambling, Internet gambling.

In recent news a study has showed, “Overall, internet gamblers were not more likely to be problem gamblers, but they do appear to be at higher risk of developing problems,” said Southern Cross University’s Sally Gainsbury, who led the study.

University of Sydney Psychology professor Alex Blaszczynski, who collaborated with Gainsbury, said: “While internet gambling has been around since the 1990s, its popularity has soared in the past few years with clear trends indicating an increasing number of participants starting to gamble online.”

“This is a worrying trend as playing on offshore sites may result in identify theft, fraud, losing funds and cheating, leaving Australians with little recourse,” Blaszczynski said.

“Gambling problems take a while to set in before causing severe consequences so as people continue to play online more problems are likely to emerge from this form of gambling,” Dr Blaszczynski said.

“The study’s researchers are calling for the online gambling space to be made safer for users. Among our recommendations are that players be encouraged to set limits on their spending; pop-up messages suggesting a break in long continuous sessions; and self-tests to determine the risk of developing gambling problems.”

Reported by Maggie B.