Ever lose twenty bucks because you washed your pants with the wallet still inside? Ever lose $1,000 because Boston College didn?t cover the spread against St. John?s? You might have done the former, but chances are you have yet to do the latter, even though betting on sports is easier than ever.

There was a time when, in order to place a bet on professional or collegiate sports, one had to know the right person, i.e. a bookie, but that is no longer the case. The Internet has led to the proliferation of several vices, with the most apparent being pornography. However, Internet sports gambling sites have been on the rise lately and show no signs of slowing down.

The Internet allows you to gamble on all major sports, professional and college. To be in the world of sports gambling is to be in the world of numbers. A bet can be placed on the over, which means the total score of both teams will be more than a certain amount. A bet can also be placed on the under, which means the total score will be less than a certain amount. You can also bet on the spread, which means a team will win (or lose) by a certain amount. For example, the spread on the Super Bowl this year favored the Rams by 14 points and the over/under was 53 points. All of this is just a point and click away. With a credit card, computer and phone line anyone can bet until their heart?s content (or until they max out their credit card).

Shouldn?t this be illegal? It almost was. The Internet Gambling and Protection Act of 1999 was set to put an end to Internet gambling before it got out of hand. But the Act stalled in the House of Representatives and was eventually voted down. With gambling legal in some states, provisions in the bill that allowed for gambling on horse racing and the location of many Internet gambling companies outside the United States; details of the bill could never be worked out to anyone?s satisfaction.

So the Internet gambling boom started and it opened up a new market to the young and to college students. The market also extended the gambling market to potential customers who could not get to, or gain access to a casino. A 1997 study by Harvard Medical School?s Division on Addictions found college students are three times more likely to have a gambling problem because of the generally accepted risk taking that comes with college. Internet gambling has upped the ante.

“As crack cocaine changed the cocaine experience, I think electronics and the Internet is going to change the way gambling is experienced,” said Howard Shaffer, Harvard Medical School?s director for the division of addiction.

With any new technology, there are always direct or indirect evils that will rise from it. The car led to pollution, the television led to a decrease in reading and the Internet led to all information, both good and bad, being introduced to the general public. The argument over whether or not gambling is moral is a matter of opinion. But the situation of unregulated gambling that is relatively easy for anyone to access is a matter of public safety.

While college students may look at Internet gambling as a quick way to get some cash, or a means to make sporting events more interesting, they should make sure that they understand the consequences that can come with such a risky hobby.

Contacting Ryan Flatley is a sure bet at [email protected].