LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Gambling: People
built 619 days ago
Gambling refers to the act of playing a game of chance wherein money is normally at stake. It comes in many forms including horse races, casinos, lotteries, card rooms, and stock market betting. Although these kinds of games have been made for recreational purposes, there are people who for some reason become so involved with gambling that they develop a dependency for it.
Source:
In British Columbia today, opportunities for gambling by children are growing with the rise of Internet wagering, cable TV poker and handheld computer games. But young people barely understand the serious risks involved, say experts. Of the 454 youth surveyed there for Gregg's thesis study, about 90 percent had gambled at least once in the past year; nine percent reported that they were at risk for developing problems and five percent reported behaviour consistent with problem gambling. Young people gamble on activities such as video games, school lottos and bingos, arcades, sports betting, dice, pogs, raffles, dares, handheld poker machines, unregulated internet games, pool or other games of skill. The McGill centre noted a large-scale study of adolescents in Alberta that found the average problem gambler started gambling at age 10 and it says similar results were found in other studies around the world. Young problem gamblers can be more prone to delinquency, criminal behaviour, disrupted family and peer relationships and lower school performance and work activities.
Source:
[L]aw enforcement began to rein in illegal gambling. Police reforms in the 1960s and subsequent federal law enforcement activity (notably Operation Greylord) discouraged corrupt protection arrangements. In the 1980s, federal authorities used antiracketeering laws and witness protection programs in successful prosecutions of illegal gambling executives. Mob gambling, now focused on sports, remained large enough to lead to point-shaving scandals. Mobsters have profited from video poker and extortionate lending to desperate people with gambling debts.
Source:
Almost everyone has trouble understanding the huge and tiny numbers involved in gambling odds. But learning about these odds has convinced many people that gambling is not the harmless pastime they thought it was. The main thing to understand is that the odds always favor the house. For example, the house's take on a slot machine can be as high as 35%. This means that if you bet ten dollars, you can expect to walk away with only $6.50; if you bet $100, you can expect to keep only $65, and so forth. The more you play, the more you lose. Although some gamblers are ahead temporarily, in the long run the odds will prevail, and the gambler will lose.
Source:
A survey has revealed that Hong Kong parents are mostly unaware that their children are engaged in illegal gambling activities. While 90 percent of the parents said their children did not gamble, more than 28 percent or 230 of the youths polled said they did. About 70 percent of young people interviewed said their parents are gamblers and 51 of those who admitted they gambled said they had begun doing so between the ages of five and 10.
Source:
Within the last two years... a new form of gambling has emerged: Internet gambling. People no longer have to leave the comfort of their homes to place bets or wagers. [6] Instead, they can sit comfortably in the privacy of their homes and gamble using the computer. Because of the Internet's widespread availability and international scope, this emerging form of gambling presents new legal and policy concerns since there are arguably few, if any, regulations that govern Internet gambling.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
People