8-Sep-07. Frontier justice: Can virtual worlds be civilized? Globe and Mail, F4.

This lengthy feature article relates primarily to online multi-player virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft. In Second Life, it is possible for virtual characters to gamble at the Second Life casino for Linden dollars which have a real-world exchange value. Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life, this year invited the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to tour Second Life casinos. At the end of July, it announced a complete ban on in-world gambling. 

31-Jan-07. Sounds like an addiction but not a harmful one. Calgary Sun, 59.

This article discusses the vast amounts of time some people spend participating in fantasy sports leagues. UNLV professor Dr. Bo Bernhard did a study on fantasy sports last year and found only a few instances of the phenomenon taking over someone’s life. The inability to properly monitor fantasy players also makes it difficult to determine whether or not fantasy sports leads to more serious forms of gambling, like wagering on games.

31-Jan-07. Sounds like an addiction but not a harmful one. Edmonton Sun, S13.

This article discusses the vast amounts of time some people spend participating in fantasy sports leagues. UNLV professor Dr. Bo Bernhard did a study on fantasy sports last year and found only a few instances of the phenomenon taking over someone’s life. The inability to properly monitor fantasy players also makes it difficult to determine whether or not fantasy sports leads to more serious forms of gambling, like wagering on games.

29-Jan-07. It’s fun… to win! Calgary Sun, B6.

This article notes that there have been few research studies related to fantasy sports in comparison to other forms of gambling. A recent study by Dr. Bo Bernhard, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas reported that there can be some positive social networking aspects associated with the activity. Garry Smith, a gambling research specialist at the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, notes that the skill element of sports betting seems to mean that people are less likely to become addicted to that form of gambling.