It has humble beginnings in a college dormitory room, with some exciting wins over a poker website, against other beginning players.

It gradually develops into a hobby with a tiny bankroll, and every night is spent on these long online sessions. But in this gradual process, the stakes keep increasing and the debts too, until everything else fades in front of poker.

As per the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, this problem is spreading statewide. The report further elaborates that college students from Florida are twice more likely to become compulsive online gamblers, and the most serious issue is the matter regarding online poker being played by young men. Further, televised poker tournaments displaying young individuals create a negative influence on young men.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Derevensky from McGill University analyzed the collective data of 7 colleges and universities in Florida and concluded that a complete generation of students wants to take up professional poker as a career after finishing school.

He further said that with lots of spare time and newly found independence, college life creates a perfect environment for students to spend as much time as possible in playing.

Arnie Wexler, a consultant in gambling addiction and a Boynton Beach resident, says that around a third of the 888-LAST-BET hotline calls come from parents of students or from college students who get deeply trapped in internet poker addiction.

One of the callers, Marc, aged 21, from Boynton Beach, who did not want to disclose his last name, said that he dropped college and stole money from family and friends in order to play online poker. “My college life was going great, but after I was introduced to poker, it became an obsession,” he says. “My life was consumed by it.”

Poker has lots of attraction for young men. That’s why it’s called a young man’s game.

This summer, the World Series of Poker, saw 8 out of the 9 players who reached the final table, all below the age of 29. It’s also a game for men only. Out of the total 7,319 entrants, only 3 percent were women.

Success stories, like that of the 21 year old Joe Cada, a college dropout, who became the World Series of Poker champion in 2009, act as strong attractions for young men.

In addition, more often students graduate from online play to live poker, which is not far, but only a few miles on the highway. The influence of poker has come closer to Florida. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature removed the betting limits on poker this spring, with the rules being implemented from July 1 onwards. This allowed Florida to enter the major leagues, with South Florida hosting the World Poker Tour for the 1st time. The venue is Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood for April.

Gamblers Anonymous, which is referred to by the Florida council, reports more and more young men admitting that they require help for online poker addiction.

One Broward County resident, Robert said, “Every week we have at least a single young kid coming to us for help.” Robert stopped gambling at 27, with regular backslides for 8 years. He regrets today about the wasted days and money on Internet poker during the early years of 2000. Presently he is 40 and he has not stumbled upon gambling for the last 4 years. According to him, recovery from poker addiction is not only tough for young men, but it is the same for mature men as well.

He says, “It can only be a very rare individual, who can move away from this addiction in his young age. Generally, they are not that much humble or mature enough to seek any kind of help.”

Steve, another of South Florida’s recovering gambler, said that the 24-hour boundless access to online poker was really serious. “I used to play all types of poker, and at anytime I wanted to”, he says.

Before coming in to seek help, Steve had lost more than $ 100,000 on gambling.