A charity called GamCare announced they are seeing an increase in students using online casinos to gamble with poker and various other games.  They feel that many of these students are developing issues.  GamCare is seeing many students come in with debts they cannot handle due to the online casino gambling.

Andy McLellan is the Chief Executive of GamCare.  He stated being at University can create problems because students find they are away from home for the first time.  They have to manage their money and sometimes they do not know anyone.  It can create a situation where they find other means of dealing with the changes.  Added to the penchant for gambling are the university debts.  Going to university is not cheap and while student loans and parents can help out eventually the student loans will need to be repaid with interest.

Andy McLellan stated that a number of pressures and other risk factors can make stressful situations even worse. Judith Carey, who is the head of student services at University of Lincoln has found an increasing number of students getting into debt over gambling.  Not all the online casino gambling is restricted to things like poker.  A lot of what GamCare is seeing is bets on racing, rugby, and other sports betting.  There is a high chance factor on much of the online casino games and sports betting.  If the student chooses wrong they can lose quite a bit.

With poker there is still chance, but there is also strategy, which can help the student win a few times and thus they continue to play.  There is also the added factor of high speed internet being available at the rooms.  Students need the internet for their school work.  The thing is that not all students become addicted.  While there is a rise in online casino debt one cannot look at the online casinos as the main cause.

Students do not have to begin the online casino gambling at all, though there are hundreds of ads and other marketing tools used to ensure everyone knows the sites are out there.  Some students do take it to the extreme, and thousands of others go to class, study, and ignore online temptations.  The extreme gamblers will do little else than gamble and take breaks for a few seconds before going back to the game.  These are the students who are addicted.