Characteristics of Internet Gamblers Among a Sample of Students at a Large, Public University in Southwestern United States

There is a current lack of descriptive information on college students who gamble on the Internet. With the increasing popularity of Internet gambling, this study aimed to better understand the profile of Internet gamblers among a sample of college students. Of 909 students at the University of California-Los Angeles who completed an online survey, 8.1% reported gambling for money on the Internet at least once in their lifetime and 5.7% reported Internet gambling within the past year. Approximately one third of Internet gamblers were identified as either at-risk or probable pathological gamblers. Males were much more likely to gamble on the Internet compared to females. Those who gambled on the Internet gambled more frequently and were more likely to report indicators of potentially harmful lifestyles (e.g., drinking alcohol, smoking, using marijuana, using illicit drugs, and unhealthy body mass indices) compared to non-Internet gamblers and nongamblers. Poker, the predominant gambling activity, is discussed in terms of its role as the driving force behind Internet wagering among college students.