1. How Does Technology Affect Gambling Addiction
2. How Does Technology Affect Gambling Affect

1. Compulsive gambling is 100% psychological; therefore the initial quitting is relatively easy. However, being able to commit to not gambling becomes the primary challenge. With adequate treatment, gambling addiction can be managed. Unlike other addictions, such as food, a gambling addict does not need to gamble in order to survive.
2. In the case of the gambling industry, more and more people (especially Millennials) are avoiding those epic trips to Las Vegas or Atlantic City in favor of regular online gambling. The global online gambling market topped 40 billion dollars in 2016, and over 40% of those online gamblers were young people between the ages of 21 and 34.
3. L egalizing sports betting won’t just bring the law in line with American attitudes and desires – it will also deliver powerful economic benefits, possibly generating $8 billion in local taxes, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and adding $22.4 billion to the gross domestic product, according to new a comprehensive study on the economic impact of a legalized U.S. Sports betting market.
4. With technology impacting each and every segment in every possible way, the online gambling industry was one of those who benefited from this revolution. Let us see how: The Early Days of Gambling Industry. Till the last decade, people use to walk to the casinos to take pleasure of gambling.

Most of the rapidly shifting trends in gambling are due to technological innovation in the gambling industry. Many of these innovations may have direct or indirect impact on the prevalence and types of problem gambling.

For many people gambling is not a harmful activity, but for some it can be a serious problem. A recent Reed in Partnership report found that 10% of working adults have direct experience of the problems gambling can cause in the workplace and more than four in five British adults think that gambling and debt can be a distraction for people in work.

Gambling problems are incredibly complex, with motivations and triggers that vary for each individual, however concentration and behaviour at work has been found to be affected by gambling, leading to a loss of productivity.

Common impacts of problem gambling

• Financial difficulty, debt and bankruptcy
• Relationship breakdown (including divorce)
• Lost productivity
• Crime (e.g. theft and fraud)
• Low self-esteem
• Depression, stress and anxiety
• Substance misuse
• Isolation and loneliness
• Suicide

What does it cost your business?

• 5% of fraud now related to problem gambling (up to £225 million each year)¹
• Employee sickness and other absence
• Impacts on employee mental health
• Reduced productivity
• Damage to your reputation

Protecting your business and supporting your employees

The National Gambling HelpLine and GamCare counselling services can support your current Employee Assistance Programme and provide additional safeguarding – our free advice and support is available nationwide to aid employee welfare.

GamCare can also assist your business in developing robust workplace gambling policies, and in providing training for HR and managers to identify potential problem gambling behaviour and provide appropriate support and signposting.

About GamCare:

• Leading national provider of information, advice and support for anyone affected by problem gambling
• Operates the National Gambling HelpLine (Freephone 0808 8020 133 or via web chat at gamcare.org.uk, 8am – Midnight, seven days a week)
• Free online and face-to-face counselling provided throughout England, Scotland and Wales
• For information on bespoke training and consultancy, contact info@gamcare.org.uk

External links:

1. BDO Fraudtrack Report, February 2016: http://www.bdo.co.uk/news/bdo-fraudtrack-report

The video game storm has hit your computer, phone, and living room to the point that it has overtaken pretty much everything. But was it always like this? Nope. Numerous technological advancements have taken place in gaming since the pong days. Here is a list of 5 ways in which technology has made huge impact on gaming.

1. Artificial Intelligence has grown by leaps and bounds

Even a multiplayer video game where you don’t have anyone to play against is a dull and dreary experience. And that’s where the role of Artificial Intelligence comes into play. Technically, AI has been around from the very beginning of the gaming industry. It is not anything innovative; it was there all the time when you were playing Pong. But what is actually new is the fact that AI is beginning to mimic humans more and more each day now.

In video games today, enemies may go for war tactics like flanking. They may throw a grenade when they are unable to get your clear visual. This is something very similar to real life warfare. AI is getting more intelligent with each passing year. In addition, it’s already gotten to the point where it is training a computer-controlled player to act like a human. AI can certainly be regarded as the biggest technological advancement in video games, since it’s the one that’s quite responsible for the existence of video games.

2. Online play is an icing on the cake

With the advent of online gaming, multiplayer games received their much deserved recognition. At one point, online play even became a must have element that was responsible for the success of a new release. Thanks to the evolution of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), online gaming has become an entirely different experience today.

At present, gamers can engage and play with fellow gamers online irrespective of their geographical locations. Interestingly, the unrivalled champion of this area—World of Warcraft—has more than eight million subscribers. This means that eight million people are connected to each other through an online society. You can also enjoy a game of slots with a person sitting in other corner of the world using sites such as All Slots Casino. However impossible it might have been a few decades back, it is a reality today. Online Play is a separate world of its own presently.

3. The third dimension looks wonderful

Two dimensions have their own limitations. You can do only so much with them—top-down, platformers, and views. The possibilities of what you can do are going to be exhausted eventually.

Three dimensional games were already present in the 1980s, for instance, there were games like Red Racer. However, early platforms didn’t look that appealing and were also convoluted to an extent.

Now, most games are three dimensional games. With the betterment of graphics software, they are even looking better. The stride to the third dimension has changed something fundamental regarding the way games look and feel.

4. Graphical upgrades are so much enhanced

Let’s be honest here. Pong was not a beautiful game. It didn’t have complicated textures, shaders, or sprites that are found in all modern games today. As time passed, there have been major strides in the way graphics are provided or rendered on gaming platforms.

Technology has apparently allowed for enhanced graphics by means of hardware upgrades. The Pong era, on the other hand, had limited processors. As a result there wasn’t much that could be done to do away with choppy performance. Today is the scene of high-speed hardware, which allows for more instructions, pixels, and shading—even on an enormous scale.

5. Portability has made gaming convenient

In the obsession of making everything portable, how could we leave gaming behind? Gaming consoles were miniaturized and made easily transportable. The result? People could now game anywhere any time. They just needed to press the on switch, and entertainment took care of the rest. This meant no more having to tow around TV and consoles to play a game against a friend.

How Does Technology Affect Gambling Addiction

Apparently, the technology behind portable gaming has lagged a bit for a while. But the uniqueness of being able to game any time anywhere is just undeniable. It was actually this innovation that led to cell phones and mp3 players on the bus. You might be surprised to know there is a new trend on the uprise and that’s gaming tablets, they’re both powerful and portable. Some offer an incredible library of games, ready at your fingertips. See this guide on the latest gaming tablets.

6.Powerful Smartphones and Gaming Apps

Smartphones and their gaming apps developed specifically for playing on smartphones have made gaming both ubiquitous and accessible. While not everybody might be happy to invest in a PC specifically for playing games, a console, or other gaming technology, everybody splashes out to get the latest and greatest phones. Today’s smartphones are incredibly powerful and can be used even for performance intensive games. So much so, that demand for app developers has mushroomed and hiring for such positions has become quite a task. Yet, as a consumer and gaming enthusiast, the proliferation of mobile games is great for the whole industry.

Conclusion

How Does Technology Affect Gambling Affect

Where is video game technology heading to? 20 years back technology seemed that it was front-line of the one that was about to come. And perhaps the same will happen. While it’s not possible to predict the future, it is fair to say that virtual reality has been a developing topic recently.