Gambling disorders, for 6 out of ten Italians, more needs to be done

For 80% of Italians, the priorities of the gaming sector are the prevention of addiction, the protection of minors and young people and the fight against illegal gaming. But almost 6 out of 10 Italians still consider what is being done today to prevent and combat gambling disorders to be inadequate. This is what emerges from the Observatory on communication in gaming, created by the Fair Foundation with Ipsos Doxa, and presented this morning in Rome during the Fair Forum, the day of discussion that brought together institutions, sector authorities, the academic world and businesses around the topic of responsible gaming communication.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, Agcom and the Advertising Self-Regulation Institute, among others, together with the leaders of the Fair Foundation. The research, illustrated during the Forum by Ilaria Ugenti, Reputation Leader of Ipsos Doxa, was created to understand how much the messages used today by institutions and operators really manage to raise awareness of risks, protection tools and behaviors useful for preventing problematic situations, among the main objectives of the Fair Foundation's actions.

As for the most effective tools to curb gambling, more than a third of the population puts spending and time limits per game first, followed by self-exclusion and gaming breaks. For Stefano De Vita, general director of the Fair Foundation "there are many tools available, far too many.

The challenge is to direct them to the individual characteristics of the players and teach them that trying to recover money and losses is only the beginning of a never-ending economic disaster." The clearest message that emerges from the survey concerns communication. For those interviewed, for it to be effective it must be clear, concrete and aimed at the entire population, not just those who play. "It is no longer just an issue of limiting the offer" in the gaming sector, underlines Ugenti, but "a change of pace is needed by all parties - institutions, concessionaires, owners of gaming halls and betting shops - to create a gaming culture different from what we have today".