Online gambling is a lot like gambling anywhere else: the odds are for the house (that means they’re against you). Casinos and other gaming sites are in business to make money, not to make you rich. How much does the gaming house make off of you? That depends on what you play and where you play it. The worst odds are in lotteries – the saying that lotteries are a tax on people who can’t do math is not far from the truth. The statistical edge against you in other bets varies:

What do the percentages mean? You’ll lose, in the long run, $19 for every $100 you bet on horse racing. Or $10 to $20 for every $100 you bet on blackjack. Yes, you’ll lose less if you play certain systems perfectly – but who’s perfect? And even if you were, you’d break even at best.

So the odds are against you from the start. Now let’s add the lack of regulation on the Internet. Regular casinos are subject to state laws and gaming commissions. Internet gambling is not. Internet casinos are often set up in countries that have no gaming laws at all – and you can probably guess that doesn’t mean they’re keeping lower profits from the enterprise.

So, if you find a reputable site and you understand that you will lose money, it’s okay then, right? Not always. The other reason Internet gambling is more dangerous than live gambling has to do with human nature.

Online gambling is always available. If you make a conscious decision to go to a casino, and you take only the money you can afford to lose, then quit when you’ve lost it, you can go home and be done with it. If the gambling opportunity is right there on your desk, and you’re gambling on your credit card, it’s harder to walk away. Add to that the fact that you are gambling in an isolated, secret environment, and gambling could become a real problem for you.

Almost everyone who has ever surfed the Net has "lost time." It’s probably happened to you, too: you sit down for a few minutes, start clicking, and suddenly hours have passed. This can happen with online gambling, too: only, when you’re gambling, you can lose a lot more than a few hours in the process.

Gambling is not a way to make money. Ever. Many people enjoy gambling as a form of entertainment. If you are of legal gambling age and understand that you are gambling for entertainment, not for profit, the decision is yours. If you think you might have a gambling problem, answer the questions below.

1. Have you ever missed school or work because of gambling?
2. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
3. Have you ever gambled to get money to pay debts or solve money problems?
4. Have you ever borrowed money to gamble?
5. Have you ever sold anything to get the money to gamble?
6. Have you ever gambled longer than you planned to?
7. Have you ever gambled to escape from your problems?
8. Have you ever lied about how much you gamble?

If you answered yes to any of these questions or have another reason to suspect you have a gambling problem, contact an organization like 1-800-gambler www.800gambler.org or Gamblers Anonymous www.gamblersanonymous.org for help.