Compulsive Gamblers: Women's Experience Gambling on the Internet
Compulsive Gamblers: Women's Experience Gambling on the Internet
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Issue Date
2006
Authors
Dinerman, Mary Beth
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Abstract
This study addresses the impact of gender on gambling behavior. In-depth interviews were conducted on 15 participants throughout the United States. The purpose was to examine how the beliefs and attitudes held by female compulsive gamblers about female gamblers impacted their decision to gamble on the Internet and how Internet gambling impacted their gambling behavior. The themes were perceptions and beliefs of self and other female gamblers, attractive features of the Internet, factors influencing one's decision to initiate, continue, or terminate a gambling session, and consequences of Internet gambling. Analysis showed participants found the Internet gambling environment attractive as it reduced the cognitive dissonance between being female gamblers and being "responsible, moral women." Features that allowed for the reduction in cognitive dissonance were the location of gambling in the home - a socially sanctioned environment for women, anonymity, and invisibility. Many participants reported they initiated gambling on the Internet as a reward for hard work and to help them relax but found they played more aggressively and continued to play for more extended periods as a result of being anonymous and invisible. Anonymity and invisibility led to deindividuation, which reduced the effects of usual inhibitory mechanisms such as shame and guilt, fear of evaluation, and personal responsibility. Additionally, participants played more skilled games to relieve a negative mood state on the Internet than at land casinos as a result of anonymity and invisibility. The consequences of Internet gambling included interpersonal, intrapersonal, financial, and functional stressors. The women had gambled for 6-30 years at land casinos, with the vast majority having no problems before Internet gambling. Problematic Internet gambling occurred within 2-4 years. These results suggest that there is a need for reform in treatment recovery programs for women that include examining the negative images and stereotypes of female gamblers and their influence on female gamblers, as well as treatment programs that focus on the psychological components of addiction. There is also a need for the dissemination of material on the tactics used by Internet gaming establishments that can lead to addiction.