I'd never recommend online gambling to people susceptible to gambling addictions, because it is inevitable some will be unable to control their habits, and will end up wagering more than they can reasonably afford.

Personally I'd say to try something like the free poker on Triplejack ( www.triplejack.com ), I find it as entertaining as real gambling, although you are only gambling with points.

I too would not recommend online poker to people with gambling addictions. I was purely giving players another option of gambling who enjoy a gamble, and the challenge of beating a skill based game, and who do not have this option anymore, with the true skill based fruit machines now gone.

I can relate to this story in some ways. I used to play the fruit machines in the 80's, making a steady profit from as you say skill based fruit machines, skill stops and knowledge of when a machine was going to pay out.
Luckily for me I gave up playing fruit machines, once I knew the skill factor had gone. I moved on to small stake gambling on horses Lucky 15 and placepots etc. But was still missing a gamble, where I was in control.

Luckily three years ago I was shown poker by a friend, and then moved on to on line poker, playing $1, $2 and $3 single table tournaments, making a healthy profit along the way and as Peter says I to found this just as rewarding if not more so to feed my love of a gamble, and have felt the same sense of achievement of winning that i found from playing 80's fruit machines.

You do need a certain amount of skill and knowlege to win, but if you play at stakes you are prepared to lose, this game can be very rewarding both for pleasure and profit.

Heres hoping that from reading this post, I have convinced a few fruit machines players to give up their losing habit, and given them an alternative and cheaper way to gamble.