Online gambling at work has swelled to a mammoth proportion and is costing firms in UK millions of pounds, crossing a figure of 300 million pounds per annum in lost or wasted productivity.

A survey carried out by Morse, an IT consultancy firm came up with the startling facts that almost one third of the 664 employees who chose to be respondents admitted to indulging in online gambling and betting or was aware of a colleague doing the same thing while office work hours were on.

Also more than 25% of the respondents were clueless about the internet usage policy adopted by their concern and had no inkling that they were abusing or misusing their position or designation by gambling online during work hours.

The Morse survey found another tell tale sign that most concerns never enforce their policies when three quarters of the male employees admitted to accessing online gambling sites from their office computers , using office internet connection within work hours throwing their office rules and acceptable use policy to the wind knowingly.

Morse reiterated and underscored the importance of educating employees about the office work policy and rules and suggested implementation of drastic measures like URL filtering and blocking access to online gambling sites to curb this potentially dangerous habit that is resulting in financial losses for firms and companies and lowered productivity rates.

Online gambling, especially at work is like a hidden addiction that is difficult to kick. 6.25 billion pounds was the total amount the online gambling revenues raked up globally in 2005, recording an increase of a staggering 28%. A million people regularly misuse their office internet connection to gamble online during office hours, according to a survey carried out by eMarketer in 2006.

Firms have to enforce policies that will view online gambling at work as a gross misconduct and a breach of contract and managers can take disciplinary action against erring employees if they are neglecting their duties.