Gambling At Work Becomes an Issue in Australia

It is a well-known fact that the internet contributes to loss of productivity in workplaces where employees have online access. Many individuals use their work computers and personal mobile devices to check non-work emails and socialize on networks like Facebook and Twitter. Now, a new trend has emerged, seeing more and more employees accessing the internet at work in order to play poker and other casino games.

According to the Brisbane Times, employers and IT specialists believe now is the time to ban online gambling in the workplace. Joel Zyngier of Holding Redlich, an Australian-based law firm, states that employees should not be using company time or company equipment to play casino games, whether free-play or pay-to-play.

''Due to the increased trend of gambling via social media, it is clear that the unacceptable behaviour must include using an employer's resources to engage in gambling via social media,'' he says. Over the course of the past year, there has been a significant increase in the number of opportunities that users have to online gambling.

Thanks to mobile casinos and poker rooms as well as social gambling websites, employees are even more tempted to access these games while at work.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation acknowledges that health risk involved in providing users with such easy access to online gambling, as well as the potential for increased gambling access at work. Zyngier has proposed that, rather than banning all forms of social networking, it is important for employers to establish rules regarding appropriate online behaviour.

Employees should be informed that gambling at work is not an appropriate use of their professional resources or time. In some workplaces, employers enact firewalls that prohibit anyone from accessing any sites that are deemed unacceptable for work.

In some cases, this is seen as an extreme – however, more and more employers may have to resort to this strategy should workers continue to access online and social casinos despite warnings.