Concerns over online gambling
Of course there are concerns about young people gambling online, with worries about such activities leading to gambling addictions, credit woes and bankruptcy.

In May, U.S. Representatives Shelley Berkley and Jon Porter, both of Nevada, introduced legislation calling for an independent study to explore the issue.

And this summer, the UCLA Gambling Studies Program thought it a big enough issue to design a study to try to pinpoint just how prevalent problem gambling is among its students.

How big a problem online gambling is among young people remains unclear, as does the role of online poker.

“I don’t think any of us look at this (playing poker) as gambling,” Gardner says. “We look at it as a skill game. But people who don’t know the game, when they find out I play, they say ‘oh so you’re a gambler.’ A lot of preconceived notions come with that, and you’re a degen(erate) and all that.”

Both Khan and Keenan admit they know of people who have lost all their money playing poker online.

“It happens quite often,” Keenan says. “People don’t like to admit they go broke, but sometimes they do. A lot of people say ‘I play within my bankroll.’ They go on such a downswing that they try to catch up on their losses, move up higher (in stakes), and start going broke. It’s very, very easy to get into that situation.”

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Keenan says he’s experienced bad downswings himself, losing as much as $30,000. He says losses can snowball as the pressure mounts.

“You doubt everything,” he explains. “You try to change your game around a lot, and you eventually start to fulfill the self-prophecy that you always lose. So you’re becoming self-destructive in a way. That’s how it works.”

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