WASHINGTON -- Online gambling is growing in popularity, and experts say it's a dangerous addiction.

All a player has to do is download it, make up a name, and go in and play. Gone are trips to the casino with friends. Gambling has gone to the sports channels, celebrity contests and more than 3,000 Internet sites -- most offshore, escaping U.S. regulation. Players log on and bet at their own risk.

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The Web sites are getting some big numbers and young visitors, and there have been reports of some servers just unplugging and taking people's money without ever being heard from again.

In a one-week period, more than half a million gamblers ages 14 to 22 go online to wage real-money bets. For many, it can quickly become an expensive -- and dangerous -- addiction, gambling experts say.

A Lehigh University sophomore and son of a pastor racked up more than $5,000 in Internet gambling debt and became so desperate he robbed a bank. His father said he was blindsided by his son's Internet gambling addiction.

"I think all parents should sit down and discuss adult life away from home with their kids," the father said. "Most parents give a credit card for emergencies, but that's not always a wise decision."

But it's not just credit cards that can be trouble, as there are as many as 30 different payment options. Some students have turned to tuition grant money to feed their habit. Others steal from friends and family and sell off personal possessions.

For some players, the addiction starts with playing with fake money. Some said that when they started playing with real money, they became worse players because they were nervous.

Students, especially men, say a lot of games and ads are geared to them.

Two former college students who saw the gambling grip take hold of friends online decided to come up with software to block poker play from computers. For $5 a month, ProblemPoker.com prevents online gambling by blocking an opportunity to wager on a personal computer. The creators said they would like to see colleges target online gambling the way they monitor drinking, drug use and hazing.

Related Information:

• Problem Poker