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Continuing our series on addiction without substance, Simon Milton explores the misunderstood world of gambling addiction. Using his years of experience as a gambling therapist, Simon discusses the most likely theories for this often problematic behaviour and argues for the best treatment options.

It is estimated that gambling on the Internet will be worth as much as $3bn by 2001. Gambling via interactive technology is already underpinned by two recent changes in consumer behaviour. First, increasing familiarisation with interactive technology and second, by changes in the way the gambling market operates. These already changing behaviour patterns, signal the success drivers on which gambling on the internet can build. The implications of this new leisure consumption pattern are discussed and the paper concludes that the synergy between marketing gambling and technology will transform the production and consumption of gambling.

To highlight the compliance issues which face gambling entities with the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) 2003 Forty Recommendations

To determine the gambling sector's attitudes towards the FATF's new anti‐money recommendations their responses to an earlier FATF consultation paper are analysed. Interested parties were asked to provide feedback on a number of options proposed by the FATF. Twenty six of the 145 respondents provided feedback on issues relating to the gambling sector. It is these responses that form the bases of the analysis in this paper.

The preferences of the gambling sector were not taken on board by the FATF. The increased customer due diligence (CDD), suspicious transaction reporting and the identification of politically exposed persons will be a burden on casino operators, the only gambling sector to be specifically identified in the new recommendations. Non‐compliance could be a serious issue.

The small number of responses from the gambling sector does place limitations on the ability to generalise the outcomes to the global gambling industry, though five of the respondents were gambling organisations.

For regulators, the possibility of non‐compliance by the gambling sector should be addressed as should the likelihood of pressure for reduced CDD procedures.

The FATF's updated 2003 Forty Recommendations impose considerable compliance costs on the financial sector. A number of other business sectors are also caught within the scope of these new recommendations. This paper addresses anti‐money laundering compliance issues for the gambling sector, an area not previously explored.

This paper examines the socio‐economic determinants of gambling expenditure on lotteries, Lotto and Instant Lotto, TAB/on‐course betting, poker machines and casino‐type games. Using a sample of 8,389 Australian households in 1993‐1994, the impact of income source and level, sex, age, ethnicity, occupational status and family composition on the decision to gamble is assessed. The results indicate that these variables exert a significant influence on the probability of households gambling. Furthermore, the effect of these same variables is likely to vary across the large range of gambling products currently available.