Recently published research has shown that one in five Spanish teenagers are already addicted to gambling
A new study conducted by the Federation of Rehabilitated Gamblers and Madrid’s Association of Psychologists has revealed that one in five Spanish teenagers are addicted to gambling.
The organization, therefore, concluded that Spain has the highest rate of teen addiction in Europe.
The study took a close look at the attitudes toward gambling of people who were aged anywhere between 14 and 21 years old. In the city of Madrid alone, another 40 gambling houses have begun operations since 2013 — which is a staggering increase of 300%.
The Federation of Rehabilitated Gamblers and Madrid’s Association of Psychologists are now campaigning for more stringent regulations on advertisements to keep betting houses from becoming “normalized” among teenagers.
The regional government of Madrid has come out and said that the rise of gambling addiction has led them to think long and hard about measures that would tackle just how close a betting establishment could possibly be to an academic institution. They are currently suggesting a 100-meter ring around all education establishments where licenses for gambling houses would be prohibited.
Critics say that this is not far from being enough and that even if ID regulations were sterner, youngsters that were keen on gambling would still find a way, possibly just going online and finding ways and means on the Internet.
Both sports betting and online poker were found to be significant interests for the age group, despite the fact that their parents are more likely to bet on the lottery.
The June publication of Gambling and Society 2019 stated that an estimated 4% of the adult population was found to have gambled in 2018. Although the report also said that only 1% of adults gamble with any real frequency.
The report was published by CEJUEGO, the industry association that represents Spain’s private gambling operators, and the Institute of Policy and Governance of the Carlos III University of Madrid.
The Spanish government has also sounded the alarm in announcing that it wants to prohibit gambling advertisements, identical to the blanket ban that is being enforced in Italy. Spain has already barred tobacco and alcohol ads on TV.
However, there is no restriction regarding what time of day gambling can be promoted, or which celebrities can possibly endorse it.
