Web of addiction

There has been an alarming increase in the number of young men seeking treatment for gambling addiction because of the popularity of online betting and ease of access to internet sites.

Tabor Lodge, one of the largest treatment centres in the South, has recorded a 50% increase in those aged between 18 and 35 seeking help in the past two years.

Mick Devine, clinical director at Tabor Lodge, said the ease with which people could gamble on the internet was a major factor in the overall increase in gambling.