Students are a vulnerable group for gambling addiction.

According to Gamcare the charitable helpline for excessive gambling they are seeing more and more university students making contact who have run up  gambling debts to the extent that they can no longer afford the equipment and books needed for course work or even to buy food. If we consider the circumstances surrounding these young people it is perhaps not too surprising; it is probably the first time they have been away from home for any length of time, it is often the first time that they have had to manage their own finances and for most it will be the first time they have had any serious debt. Add to this the fact that they have high speed internet and online casinos at their fingertips and you can easily see the attraction. Of course we cannot say that all students who gamble are addicts, there are a good number who bet on sports events such as football or horse racing and then sit and watch on TV; we all realise that  watching is much more fun if you have a bet on the result and there is no harm in that as long as it is controlled. Poker is apparently the most popular game and even that is not too surprising given that most students tend to have no problem staying up late and getting up late; there are not the same pressures as when you have to be at work at 08:00. We have seen reports of one young man who lived for his poker and would start playing in the late evening and carry on until lunchtime the next day before going to bed only to repeat the process the same day. The attraction was making money as indeed some must do, not everybody can lose playing poker.

The danger is there and students are in a high risk group but online gambling is just fun for most.