Online Poker Causing Gambling Problems?
Well those in the industry certainly wouldn’t think so but a new Canadian Clinic has been specially designed with young problem gamblers in mind. The new clinic, going under the name “ACES” for Adolescent Clinical Education Service was launched last month with the intention of acknowledging that there is a new threat to Canada’s youth in the form of online poker, online gambling and other video game addictions.
Head doctor Bruce Ballon of ACES had the following to say regarding the new clinic:
“We started getting tons of calls about Internet use and we got tired of saying, ‘Oh we don’t deal with that,’” Dr. Ballon told the Globe and Mail. “Instead, we said, ‘Let’s deal with it,’ because it’s just another manifestation or coping mechanism or strategy to deal with other issues.”
ACES is run by Dr. Ballon who is a child psychiatrist and Joanna Henderson a researcher and psychologist. The two doctors indicate that they currently are seeing eight patients and are getting new referrals every day, but they would not specify the type of addiction any of their current patients have. Online poker and other forms of online gambling are currently facing a rash of problems in the policy makers eyes as countries around the world try to make a point out of problem gambling and further restrict people’s right to gamble online.
While online poker and other forms of online gambling certainly can cause problems, it is ultimately the responsibility of each individual user to properly manage what they can afford to lose in an online gaming context. Unfortunately many around the world see online gaming as causing mass societal harm and ultimately costs nations money. Hopefully as countries around the world become more attuned to the idea of generating revenue from online gaming and realize the benefits of regulation, these types of concerns will fade.
For more information about gambling problems, check out the McGill Problem Gambling website.
