Think children are up in their rooms surfing the Internet and visiting friends in chat rooms? They may be. They also could be placing bets at Internet gambling sites and developing an addiction.
The ability to gamble on the Internet is expanding rapidly. With this expansion comes an increase in mental health problems. To try to stem the tide, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) last month issued a health advisory on Internet gambling and addiction (http://www.psych.org/news_stand/internetgamblingadvisory11601.pdf).
The APA warned that "young people are at special risk for problem gambling and should be aware of the hazards of this activity, especially the danger of Internet gambling, which may pose an increased risk to high school– and college-aged populations."
UPPING THE ANTE
Internet gambling is growing. In 1997, there were about 6.9 million Internet gamblers creating revenue of about $300 million for the online wagering facilities, according to . . . [Full Text of this Article]
