Isolation will fuel gambling addiction. We must protect those at risk | Carolyn Harris

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For so many businesses, quarantine means a downturn. Not for the online gaming industry

In the past two weeks, life as we know it has changed immeasurably. Our new reality won’t be easy to endure. Most of us will get bored and crave our old freedoms – shopping, going to the pub, lounging in the park with friends as the weather warms up. While trapped inside, many of us will rely on technology to pass the time. Online learning resources will provide frazzled parents with teaching aides for their children; video calls to family and friends will assuage the loneliness for many older people.

But there’s another, less inviting, aspect of technology. The effects of self-isolation – countless hours with often no more company than a computer screen – are also the perfect conditions for online gambling. Gambling companies have realised this and already appear to be using our newfound isolation to their own advantage. Where quarantine has meant a downturn for many businesses, gambling companies may see this period as a huge opportunity to increase their profit margins.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UE4uyP

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