Regulated Online Gambling and Gambling Problems
Barney Frank has already introduced legislation that, if passed, would regulate online gambling in the US. That development has some gaming experts wondering what effect regulated Internet gambling will have in the workplace. “Already there is a significant number of gambling options available that have created slow downs in production at offices all across the US,” said gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz, “When people gain the right to gamble from their computers at work, stricter work rules are going to have to be put in place.” Currently – the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that over twelve million people in the US may have some form of gambling problem. The most common forms of these problems are the lottery and office pools. 
In many offices, college football or NFL office pools are looked at as a form of entertainment within the workplace. The more pressing problems for employers is keeping workers focused and away from social networking on their computers during the day. That is where online gambling may become a problem for these employers. While there are rules against social use of work computers in most offices, there are limited rules regarding gambling. Millions of Americans are already gambling online. The US Internet gambling market is considered to be the largest in the world. That will only increase if Frank and other lawmakers succeed in regulating the industry. “There are blocking devices that are being used in offices, but the online gambling phenomenon will pose additional problems,” said Schwartz, “productivity could drop if employers do not seriously consider how they will monitor their employees when the online gambling laws are changed.” Regulated Internet gambling may still be a couple of years away, but the time is now for employers to start preparing for the possible dangers. Anyone looking for help with this issue or any other problem gambling related issue, feel free to visit the National Council on Problem Gambling at www.ncpgambling.org.