Extended Essay
Name: Feng ChaochaoStudent number: 2132501F
Year: 2014
Course: pre-sessional course, B1/10
Tutor: Emily FaisIntroduction
As AGLC (2001, n.pn) has indicated, “Internet is a decentralized, global system of interconnected computer networks, used for electronic mail, on-line discussion, information retrieval, and other services”. With the increasing development of science and technology, human has entered the Internet era. Internet has made considerable progress in every domain and its convenience as well as high efficiency is gradually changing people’s lives, such as e-learning in education, information war in military and e-commerce in international business. However, there are also a series of problems to be solved, for example, how to use actively, how to ensure the security and how to develop a legal management. This essay aims to focus on Internet gambling, which is a significant problem that involves a large population all over the world. This essay will first introduce the definition, main features and current situation of Internet gambling, and then take minors as an example to demonstrate the extent of adolescent gambling, and then list several causes for gambling on the Internet, finally propose some possible solutions.
Main body
Gambling, as a social phenomenon, is one of the primary problems that people are confronted with. As GAO (2002, n.pn) has indicated, “Internet gambling involves any activity that takes place via the Internet and that includes placing a bet or wager. Courts generally have defined a bet or wager as any activity that involves a prize, consideration, and chance. A prize is anything of value. Chance is usually determined by assessing whether chance or skill predominates. Consideration is what the person must pay to enter and must be something of value, such as money”. Furthermore, Griffiths (2001) has claimed that the Internet gambling is actualized through striding across geographical boundaries and fragmented networks. Consequently, Internet gambling is a worldwide phenomenon and its accessibility and availability can make people gamble 24 hours a day. In the case of traditional forms of gambling last for long ages, with the appearance of the Internet and rapid development of the social informatization, undoubtedly, gambling in the virtual space has spread rampantly. As of June 2014, there have been 3,087 online casinos and gambling sites listed at www.online.casinocity.com, which is perhaps the most popular and comprehensive online gambling portal in the world.
Gambling is an increasingly serious problem among young people and can easily lead to other serious issues. For example, although it is illegal for minors to engage in the most forms of gambling, there are 10% to 20% of them getting involved in gambling per week in the United Kingdom (Griffiths, 2007). One game legally available to minors is fruit machine. The latest piece of the UK tracking research conducted by Buczkiewicz et al (2007) claimed that fruit machine, as a popular form of gambling among children, draw the majority of adolescents’ attention, which accounts for 54% among 8,017 adolescent participants. The reason why minors play this game is unknown, for various possibilities. However, the research does indicate that gamblers among adolescents who play infrequently have different motivations than those who are addicted and play most of their time (Buczkiewicz et al, 2006). Infrequent gamblers often play for fun and relaxation, because their relatives or friends do. By contrast, addicted gamblers seem to play for other reasons, for instance, changing their mood or escaping from reality. Undeniably, the majority of both infrequent and addicted adolescent gamblers could engage in online gambling since Internet has become the most popular medium of gambling.
A large amount of factors make Internet gambling possibly attractive and addictive. Anonymity, escape and interactivity could be several points of