A city of 50,000 inhabitants that spends 110 million euros on play. Of these, twenty million were immediately lost. For the rest, almost all of the micro-wins of a few euros were immediately replayed. And these are data from 2019, the latest published by the Customs and Monopolies Agency. TO RhoAccording to estimates from the Higher Institute of Health, there are about 19,600 players, one per family. Those already employed would be 590, another 550 at risk. One thousand three hundred, however, the players under 18 yearsabout forty already at the mercy of addiction.
Opposite numbers by another number: sixty. Yesterday morning, sixty companies from Rho signed the community agreement by title “Let’s not risk the future”a letter of intent that commits them to favor other ways of playing and meeting to support those who give up slots in its facilities, oppose all forms of gambling that produce addiction. A colorful range of entities: the Municipality and all the forces of order, schools and parishes, unions and merchants, the Islamic community, the migrant council, all the political parties, associations and realities of the third sector.
An agreement that comes into force immediately: today many appointments will follow in the city on behalf of positive game and ofhealthy aggregation. A starting point to also think about other initiatives. For example, ordinances that limit the hours for playing slot machines or tax relief for merchants who choose not to have them on their premises, despite the fact that they are reliable sources of income. “We want to build a community capable of protecting the youngest guaranteeing them a healthy and serene growth”, reads the pact at the end of a well-attended conference, where Angela Fioroni, representative of the “Let’s Get Involved” campaign, recalled that “gambling does not help the economy. Lost money does not end up in stores or businesses. The game makes it easy to use usurers». In 2022, the Rhodense Addiction Service took care of 76 people. «Men from 25 to 50 years old, older than women.
As for the boys, I games on smartphones You can set yourself up for addiction. There is a gratification and this affects the neurotransmitter of pleasure that is dopamine, in the end you cannot do without it. It is the same for the elderly. Few people access treatment» explained the chief physician Renato Durello. Among the testimonies that of Alessandra Mureddu, author of the autobiographical book “Azzardo” (Einaudi) and the psychotherapist Daniela Capitanucci, who recalled the case of a girl from Gallarate in serious condition malnutrition: her parents, both addicted to gambling, did not take care of her. «The data is scary but the whole city is committed to favoring other ways of playing. It was important to build a network with all the subjects of civil society.
From here begins a job to identify specific activities that each one can implement. I thank the Public Notice association that supported us, such as BPer Banca, which shared this path with us”, explains the budget councilor Nicola Violante. BPer Bank has long had forbidden to use your credit cards in online betting sites and slot rooms. Nor does it finance projects in this area.
