Spin and spin, you'll never win

A business woman who lost $100,000 in six months through online casinos has warned other gamblers: "You will never, ever win."

At the peak of her addiction, 40-year-old Sarah (not her real name) lost $2000 a day - as much as she could spend on her and her partner's credit cards.

"I would get up when the clock had gone past midnight so the cash advances were available again," she said.

"If I won money I wanted to go back to win more, if I lost money I wanted to go back to make the money back again."

Problem gambling services say the number of people seeking help for online gambling addiction is on the rise.

The development prompted Problem Gambling Foundation research director Dr Philip Townshend to warn New Zealand was in the "early stages of an exponential increase in pathological internet gambling".

Sarah said her habit spiralled out of control when she started gambling online in secret.

After selling a successful business which turned over more than $2 million a year, she had plenty of cash to spend.

"But I do wonder if that addiction had got to me earlier, would I have started to be deceptive in the business and take money?"

The Problem Gambling Foundation has helped 72 people with internet gambling addiction in the past three months, roughly one in five clients.

He said the first wave of online gamblers are generally young professionals aged under 35, who are computer-savvy and have well-paying jobs.

"The second wave is baby boomers, and I think we're seeing a bit of the second wave now," Townshend said.

Most were successfully hiding their addiction.

"Gambling as an addiction thrives on lies, and there's nothing that can be so well hidden as internet gambling."

One client, who lost $60,000 in a year, used a wireless connection to gamble on his laptop in the toilet.

Townshend said there was no protection from rigged games. Some poker sites used "poker bots", where gamblers were unaware they were playing against a computer, and had no chance of winning.

Major Lynette Hutson, from the Salvation Army addiction services, said online gambling was "very dangerous".

"People can use their credit cards and be completely ruined in days."

Unlike casinos and gaming machines, which are electronically monitored, there was no data on how much money New Zealanders were losing online. Only the TAB and Lotteries Commission are licensed to operate internet gambling in New Zealand.

Advertising any other web-based gambling is illegal, but it's not against the law for New Zealanders to play online.

"We have people coming forward for help, but one of the bigger worries is that we're just not able to quantify it yet," said Hutson.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY