Health risk and economic consequences of online gambling, for debate at La Nau

Imatge d'un joc online.

“From entertainment to the problem of gambling online in Spain: Economics and Health” is the title of the debate conference expected to this Thursday 24th at the Classroom Magna of the Cultural Centre La Nau. The event will start at 18:00.

The presentation will be made by Francesc Verdú, vice president of the Juego Ético Association. Miguel Mazón will analyse the economic consequences of online gambling and Mariano Chóliz will speak about health risks for young people.

The event is organised by Research Unit: Gambling Addiction and Technological Addiction of the Faculty of Psychology of the Universitat de València.

Miguel Mazón and Mariano Chóliz have studied online gambling in Spain from a economic perspective (wagered amounts, fiscal contributions, work, etc.) and from the point of view of health, especially in young population (addictions, principally). At the meeting they will address publicity and passivity of the Administration in terms of its regulation and overtolerance. Only in 2017 these gambling have been played more than 13.000 millions of euros in Spain.

Since the legalization of online gambling in 2011, the wagered amounts have been exponentially increasing (2.726 millions in 2012 to 13.727 millions euros in 2017). Despite this, fiscal contributions are scarce (52 millions euros in 2017). Compared with the more than a billion of the rest of private games and of the more than 2.300 millions that contributed from SELAE, seems derisory.

Despite this, the project of General State Budget, currently under discussion, decrease by 5% and two tax havens are created in Ceuta and Melilla. A sector, on the other hand, that barely creates jobs.

Regarding the health impact, online gambling has become the second cause of pathological gambling, only under slot machine. However, in the case of young people (under 26), new modalities of online gambling are the principal cause of game addiction.

Regarding underage, the prevalence of pathological gambling is multiplied by three the general population, mainly due to gambling at bars and gambling parlors.

Categories: Conferències i debats