Online gambling has become a fast growing but controversial industry. This article summarizes two studies that investigate characteristics of Internet gambling environments that lead to problems with self-control. In-depth interviews with both online and casino gamblers reveal that their experiences are categorized differently in an online context, causing some informants to undertake less monitoring of spending. They also use their physical environment to impose boundaries. Next, an experiment investigates two characteristics of online gambling environments: the use of intangible currency and rapid sequential choice. Both traits negatively affect people's ability to maintain an accurate, in-the-moment account balance across a sequence of gambles. These studies suggest several policy and consumer welfare implications.
AntonidesGerrit (1994), “Mental Accounting in a Sequential Prisoner's Dilemma Game,”Journal of Economic Psychology, 15(2), 351–75.
4.
BaumeisterRoy, F. (1994), Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation.New York: Academic Press.
5.
BaumeisterRoy F., and MickDavid Glen (2002), “Yielding to Temptation: Self-Control Failure, Impulsive Purchasing, and Consumer Behavior,”Journal of Consumer Research, 28(4), 670–77.
6.
BernhardBo, J. (2007), “Sociological Speculations on Treating Problem Gamblers: A Clinical Sociological Imagination via a Bio-Psycho-Social-Sociological Model,”American Behavioral Scientist, 51(1), 122–38.
7.
BlalockGarrick, JustDavid R., and SimonDaniel H. (2007), “Hitting the Jackpot or Hitting the Skids: Entertainment, Poverty, and the Demand for State Lotteries,”American Journal of Economics & Sociology, 66(July), 545–70.
8.
WinstonBorgen C. (1976), Learning Experiences in Retailing: Text and Cases.New York: Goodyear.
9.
BranchShelly (2002), “Confessions of an Online Shopper,”The Wall Street Journal–Eastern Edition, (February 11), R8.
10.
BruyneelSabrina, DeWitteSiegfried, VohsKathleen D., and WarlopLuk (2006), “Repeated Choosing Increases Susceptibility to Affective Product Features,”International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(2), 215–25.
11.
ChambersClare, and WilcoxCraig (2009), “Gambling on Compliance with the New 2005 Act: Do Organisations Fulfill New Regulations?”International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 23(November), 203–215.
12.
Cooper-MartinElizabeth (1993), “Effects of Information Format and Similarity Among Alternatives on Consumer Choice Processes,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21(3), 239–46.
13.
CotteJune, and LatourKathryn (2009), “Blackjack in the Kitchen: Understanding Online versus Casino Gambling,”Journal of Consumer Research, 35(5), 742–58.
14.
CypraDan (2010), “Kentucky House Passes Bill Taxing Online and Phone Horse Racing Wagers,”Poker News, [available at
Di GregoryKevin V. (2010), “House Financial Services Committee Considers Internet Gambling,”Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, (March 18), [available at http://manattcentral.manatt.com/news.aspx?id=11168].
17.
DukeAnnie (2007), “Establishing Consistent Enforcement Policies in the Context of Internet Wagering,” testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, (November 14).
18.
DuvalShelley, and WicklundRobert A. (1972), A Theory of Objective Self-Awareness.New York: Academic Press.
19.
EadingtonWilliam, R. (2004), “The Future of Online Gambling in the United States and Elsewhere,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 23(Fall), 214–19.
20.
The Economist (2007), “Playing a Strong Hand,” (August 29), 59.
21.
The Economist (2009), “Log On, Ante Up,” (July 10), 7–8.
22.
FeinbergRichard, A. (1986), “Credit Cards as Spending Facilitating Stimuli: A Conditioning Interpretation,”Journal of Consumer Research, 13(3), 348–56.
23.
FormanRobert F., and BlockLauren G. (2006), “The Marketing of Opioid Medications Without Prescription Over the Internet,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25(Fall), 133–46.
24.
GoffmanErving (1959), The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.New York: Doubleday.
GriffithsMark, and WoodRichard T.A. (2000), “Risk Factors in Adolescence: The Case of Gambling, Videogame Playing, and the Internet,”Journal of Gambling Studies, 16(Fall), 199–225.
27.
HanawayCatherine, L. (2007), Statement before the House Judiciary Committee Concerning Internet Gambling, (November 14).
28.
HendersonPamela W., and PetersonRobert A. (1992), “Mental Accounting and Categorization,”Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 51(1), 92–117.
29.
HirschmanElizabeth, C. (1979), “Differences in Consumer Purchase Behavior by Credit Card Payment System,”Journal of Consumer Research, 6(1), 58–66.
30.
HoffmanDonna L., and NovakThomas P. (1996), “Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments: Conceptual Foundations,”Journal of Marketing, 60(July), 50–85.
31.
HuckLeonard (1976), “Making the Card the Customer,”Banking, 68(5), 37–39.
JoinsonAdam, N. (1998), “Causes and Implications of Disinhibited Behavior on the Internet,” in Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications, GackenbachJ., ed. San Diego: Academic Press, 43–60.
34.
KahnemanDaniel, and TverskyAmos (1984), “Choices, Values, and Frames,”American Psychologist, 39(4), 341–50.
35.
KingDaniel, DelfabbroPaul, and GriffithsMark (2010), “The Convergence of Gambling and Digital Media: Implications for Gambling in Young People,”Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(2), 175–87.
36.
KoyuncuCuneyt, and BhattacharyaGautam (2004), “The Impacts of Quickness, Price, Payment Risk and Delivery Issues on OnLine Shopping,”Journal of Socio-Economics, 33(2), 241–52.
37.
LaBrieRichard A., LaPlanteDebi A., NelsonSarah E., SchumannAnja, and ShafferHoward J. (2007), “Assessing the Playing Field: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Internet Sports Gambling Behavior,”Journal of Gambling Behavior, 23(June), 347–62.
LauderdaleMitzi, and ThomasJohn H. (2009), “Are You Gambling with Your Business? What You Should Know about Legal Differences between Gaming Ashore and Afloat,”Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 26(June), 408–414.
40.
LesieurHenry R., and BlumeSheila B. (1987), “The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS): A New Instrument for the Identification of Pathological Gamblers,”American Journal of Psychiatry, 144(9), 1184–88.
41.
MillerRohan (2006), “The Need for Self Regulation and Alternative Dispute Resolution to Moderate Consumer Perceptions of Perceived Risk with Internet Gambling,”UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal, 10(April), 51–58.
42.
MurrayJeff, B. (2002), “The Politics of Consumption: A ReInquiry on Thompson and Haytko's (1997) ‘Speaking of Fashion’,”Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 427–40.
43.
PalmeriChristopher (2003), “Hit the Jackpot? You Won't Need a Bucket: Coinless Slot Machines Are a Hit with Casinos and Players Alike,”BusinessWeek, (March 31), 93.
44.
PetersAlbena (2010), “Latest Developments in the WTO Internet Gambling Dispute and Challenges Ahead,”Journal of Internet Law, 13(May), 3–7.
45.
PollioHoward R., HenleyTracy, and ThompsonCraig J. (1997), The Phenomenology of Everyday Life.Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
46.
PrelecDrazen, and SimesterDuncan (2001), “Always Leave Home Without It: A Further Investigation of the Credit-Card Effect on Willingness to Pay,”Marketing Letters, 12(1), 5–12.
47.
QuittnerJoshua (1995), “Betting on Virtual Vegas,”Time, 145(June 12), 63–64.
48.
RedelmeierDonald A., and TverskyAmos (1994), “On the Framing of Multiple Prospects,”Psychological Science, 3(3), 191–93.
49.
Regional Review (1991), “The Long Shot,”2(Spring), 3.
50.
Rousso v. State of Washington (2010), No. 83040-1 (September 23).
51.
SchlosserAnn, E. (2003), “Computers as Situational Cues: Implications for Consumers’ Product Cognitions and Attitudes,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 3(1-2), 103–112.
52.
SchwartzEvan, I. (1997), Webonomics: Nine Essential Principles for Growing Your Business on the World Wide Web.New York: Broadway Books.
53.
ShortJohn A., WilliamsEderyn, and ChristieBruce (1976), The Social Psychology of Telecommunication.Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
54.
SmithGarry J., and CampbellColin S. (2007), “Tensions and Contentions: An Examination of Electronic Gaming Issues in Canada,”American Behavioral Scientist, 51(Spring), 86–101.
55.
SullivanAndy (2007), “New Law Won't Stop Internet Gambling,”PCWorld, 25(1), 30.
56.
TaylorCharles R., and KoppSteven W. (1992), “Games, Contests, and Sweepstakes Run Afoul: A State of Legal Disorder,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10(Spring), 199–213.
ThalerRichard (1985), “Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice,”Marketing Science, 4(3), 199–214.
59.
ThalerRichard (1990), “Anomalies: Saving, Fungibility and Mental Accounts,”Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(1), 193–205.
60.
ThalerRichard, and ShefrinHersh M. (1981), “An Economic Theory of Self Control,”Journal of Political Economy, 89(2), 392–407.
61.
ThompsonCraig J., and HaytkoDianne L. (1997), “Speaking of Fashion: Consumers’ Use of Fashion Discourses and the Appropriation of Countervailing Cultural Meanings,”Journal of Consumer Research, 23(1), 15–42.
62.
U.S. General Accounting Office (2002), Internet Gambling: An Overview of the Issues, Report of the United States General Accounting Office, (Publication No. GAO-03-89). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office [available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0389.pdf].
63.
VohsKathleen D., BaumeisterRoy, and CiaroccoNatalie (2005), “Self-Regulation and Self-Presentation: Regulatory Resource Depletion Impairs Impression Management and Effortful Self-Presentation Depletes Regulatory Resources,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(4), 632–57.
64.
VohsKathleen D., and HeathertonTodd F. (2000), “Self-Regulatory Failure: A Resource-Depletion Approach,”Psychological Science, 11(3), 249–54.
65.
WajdaNicholas (2007), “Over-Playing a Weak Hand,”The Economist, 384(8548), 59.
66.
WatsonStevie, LiddellPearsonJr., MooreRobert S., and WilliamD. EsheeJr. (2004), “The Legalization of Internet Gambling: A Consumer Protection Perspective,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 23(Fall), 209–213.
67.
WedellDouglas H., and BockenholtUlf (1994), “Contemplating Single Versus Multiple Encounters of a Risky Prospect,”American Journal of Psychology, 107(4), 499–519.
68.
WhiteKenneth (1980), “Credit Card Debt in the Household Portfolio,”Journal of Consumer Credit Management, 11, 66–75.
69.
WijnholdsHeiko de B., and LittleMichael W. (2007), “Online Gambling: Murky Legal Status and Vulnerable Socio-Economic Environment Poses Public Policy Challenges,”Journal of Internet Commerce, 6(1), 119–38.
70.
YellowleesPeter M., and MarksShayna (2007), “Problematic Internet Use of Internet Addiction?”Computers in Human Behavior, 23(3), 1447–53.
