"It's a mistake to criminalize online gambling like we did with drugs."

“No, not at all. There are different perspectives that always emphasize the issue of addiction and related problems. And that's why, given the increase in online gambling, there have been morally compelled voices, especially in the media, that convey this discourse, because talking about addictions, especially sordid and gruesome ones, is very profitable and generates a lot of clickbait . We've seen this with the fentanyl case in recent years, for example. But no, we have no indicators that allow us to say that addictions have shifted from drug use to the digital world. It's true that the number of users of more experimental, recreational drugs is decreasing, but the percentage of people who have problems with drugs remains the same. It's another thing entirely to talk about how the way people, especially young people, interact and relate to each other has evolved and changed, and it's clear that digital consumption has increased significantly during leisure time .”

"No, this is a big mistake. I'm seeing the same errors being repeated in addressing this phenomenon as were made in the 1980s with the drug problem. These are two completely independent phenomena , with only one common thread: addiction can develop in both cases, but this represents a very small percentage of the population. Whatever addiction may be—because we know there's a whole epistemological discussion underlying the notion of addiction and its etiology, both in chemical addictions and in those of a more behavioral nature—we must always keep in mind that the notion of addiction applies to very few people . Of the entire population that interacts with drugs—and I'm including coffee, tobacco, and alcohol—only a small percentage becomes addicted; and the same is true with screens."

The same mistakes are being repeated in dealing with the phenomenon of online gambling as were made in the 1980s with the drug problem.

Furthermore, there is a process of trivializing screen use, which means that in certain contexts where a person interacts with screens, they can be successfully labeled an addict, while in other contexts they cannot. Addiction is, after all, a label , and when people have this label, they are very likely to end up behaving as expected because of that label.

“When I talk about falling into the same mistakes, I'm referring to falling into stigmatization, criminalization, and a purely individual approach that views a person's problems from behind a closed door, when there's a context that catalyzes and facilitates the emergence of these behaviors that we might call maladaptive, behaviors that create problems in their daily lives. A less biomedical, less psychiatric, and more social and community-based perspective could yield better results, as we've seen with drugs. When the phenomenon was addressed from a community perspective , with a holistic view of the individual within their context, we began to see better results. And, above all, we must avoid working within a Manichean dichotomy of 'addiction' or 'non-addiction.' There can be other intermediate stages, because I believe the important thing is that people who engage with substances or screens are not harmed by them and can lead full, satisfying lives and have successful relationships, not be satellites of the common risky practices of drugs or screens.” The discourse of criminalization, alarm, and disease paralyzes us from carrying out effective prevention or intervention to minimize risks.

A less biomedical, less psychiatric, and more social and community-based approach could give us better results, as we have seen with drugs.

"The organization of our societies is shaped by industry. To begin with, the technology industry would be just as responsible as the gaming industry , because without it there would be no digital gaming, and betting and gambling wouldn't have experienced the boom they did starting in 2014, and especially after 2018. Of course, we live in a capitalist system where everyone tries to survive and make money, because money is the marker of social status for many people. We live, to some extent, in a plutocracy, and we've seen how large transnational corporations have almost more power than nation-states, and, moreover, they have no citizens to care for or provide shelter to in times of need, nor territories to monitor, yet they wield immense power. In the case of gaming, it's simply another industry."

But I always say the same thing: when it comes to gambling, we have a legal industry behind us. We can go and talk to them; they're there, unlike the drug industry, which is a criminal industry that solves its problems with violence, weapons, and death. In contrast, the gambling industry is made up of men in suits, and it's important to keep them strictly within the law and have them on our side. Yes, the gambling industry deals with something that can be addictive, but so does the alcohol industry, and the automotive industry causes far more deaths than the gambling industry. In a democratic social state governed by the rule of law, all these industries have the same right to operate.

Online gambling among teenagers and young people

Read more

“We shouldn’t be afraid of the industry; on the contrary, we need to win it over as an ally so it can work to prevent the most sensible harm. As professionals, we can already implement many preventative strategies at a preventative level because, moreover, we have them well identified, we know how they operate, we know what they earn… Denying the obvious and saying that gambling must be outlawed is a grave mistake , because we have historical evidence that tells us there have never been more children gambling and more abuses associated with gambling than when gambling was illegal. Illegal gambling would bring us far more problems.”

Now you can bet all day long: on the Australian second division handball league, or in Burma, on sports you don't even know what they are.

And then there's another side to the coin that we must also consider: this industry generates more than 90 billion euros annually for the Spanish state. In other words, there's an economic argument that we might consider secondary, but it's the reality. To give an example, the National Lottery, especially the Christmas Lottery, which brings in 10 billion euros a year , is what sustains the Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA). We can't lose sight of the fact that the current situation is what it is, and we must work proactively.

“We need to implement quality prevention programs, which we are only now, after thirty years, beginning to do with drugs, but not yet with gambling. The problem is that we come from a tradition of what I call information-based prevention : knowing the presentations, the methods, the consequences… But this isn't prevention; this is information, which is necessary, but not sufficient to bring about change. Those of us who are psychologists are very familiar with all the theories of behavior modification, which are very complex. How can we expect a workshop or a talk about drugs or gambling to bring about change in young people?”

How can we expect that a workshop or a talk about drugs or gambling will bring about change in boys and girls?

Quality prevention takes time ; you can't change behavior with talks, flyers, posters, and workshops. Furthermore, it's essential to verify that what's being done is truly preventative, and this can only be determined through evaluation systems, which are currently lacking. For example, in the case of gambling, a program should be designed with a series of activities that reinforce abstinence practices. In the school setting, this would need to consist of around twenty sessions or be directly integrated into the school curriculum . But we are far from this scenario. I believe we must transform prevention, as is already happening in many European countries, and as the Catalan government is beginning to do, by promoting more effective prevention initiatives.

"Well, there's a very interesting anthropological answer. Johan Huizinga, a Dutch philosopher and anthropologist from the first third of the twentieth century, conducted a whole study of play as a cultural practice, and he says that play is inherently part of the human condition . Since the dawn of time, humans have had to learn to survive in a hostile environment to feed themselves, find shelter, reproduce, and continue surviving as a species. But in this struggle for survival, play proves essential; it's part of the intrinsic culture of the human condition. And the struggle for survival and the ability to live is just as human as playing. In the case of gambling, it's about tempting fate, tempting risk with just a few coins; you take a risk, but a very trivial one, because you have a cushion, you lose the money, and that's it. The problem is when people spend more money than they can afford , and what was a cushion becomes a cobweb. For humans, taking risks is also intrinsic: to live is a risk."

Alex

Male with experience in online gambling addiction

"I even gambled away my university tuition money."

Ver testimonio

"Sports betting has existed since ancient Mesopotamia and is intrinsic to the practice of many sports. The Quiniela (football pools) was the first form of betting that overcame one of the limitations of traditional betting, namely the chronotope, that is, the constraints of time and space. Before the Quiniela, to place a bet you had to go to a specific place, on a specific day and time; otherwise, you had no opportunity to bet. The Quiniela was the first form of betting that didn't require you to travel, although you could only bet once a week. Of course, now with technology we have a casino on our phones —well, more like 30,000 casinos. And now you can bet all day long: on the Australian second division handball league or in Myanmar, on sports you don't even know exist. And we'd be amazed by the millions of sports being offered." The technological revolution has made it possible for people to place bets any day, at any time, without leaving home, without washing up, and without needing to interact with anyone. It's not the act of betting itself, but the opportunity, which was once very limited but is now vast. This is the great challenge that the issue of gambling presents.

This is the scenario, but we shouldn't panic, because panic sometimes leads to very irrational responses."