Gambling is a serious problem at the national level, experts say. More and more young people are falling into the trap of famous scams, and this phenomenon is worrying.
Gambling SOURCE The Truth Archive
Official statistics indicate that almost 100,000 Romanians face gambling addiction.
“Similar to drug use”
According to recent data, in Romania, 15% of adults play at least one form of gambling. At the same time, the incidence of gambling addiction in people over 18 is 0.6%, that is, approximately 98,000 people.
However, psychiatrists argue, the situation could be much worse and the numbers could be much higher.
“Gambling is a huge problem, kept under wraps for many years. Only recently have they come to public attention, to the attention of decision-makers, and there are some, at least embarrassing, attempts at regulation. I think the discussion related to gaming is much broader, because the implications of pathological gaming can be extremely profound, similar to those of high-risk drug use. Things have gone crazy, out of control, there is no direction, no regulatory strategy. The statistics could, in reality, look much worse. There are also minor addicts and people who do not recognize their gambling addiction.“, said Dr. Ovidiu Alexinschi, primary psychiatrist, coordinator of the NoAddict programs.
The Romanians, caught very easily in the trap
Aggressive advertising is, according to psychiatrists, a big trap. Thus, through advertisements, games of chance attract more and more followers, especially in the online environment.
,,Marketing is extremely aggressive, we are talking about a lot of money, billions of euros. Aggressive advertising and the lack of a unitary regulation led to slippages. Thus, some online players, if they have retired and asked to be removed from the lists, still receive after a year or two all kinds of e-mails with rewards to attract them, to continue playing“, adds the doctor from Ieși.
