Neither responsible nor sustainable: Conference 'Gambling, a public health problem'

Last Friday, Zaragoza hosted a conference analyzing the effects of gambling on mental health. National leaders called for stronger public intervention through regulatory policies, effective prevention strategies, and appropriate care facilities.. In addition, the GAMBL-OUT and GAMBL-HID projects were presented., led by researchers from the IIS Aragón

In 2024, online sports betting revenue more than quadrupled to nearly €2.520 billion. Online gaming revenue in Spain soared to €350,7 million during the first quarter of the year (a 15,1% increase compared to the same period in 2023). Meanwhile, operators' marketing expenses stood at €112,8 million. These figures point to the economic and lobbying power of a gaming industry which from the field of academic research is pointed out as responsible for a “public health problem”, a topic that was the focus of the conference held last Friday, May 9 at Caixaforum, organized by the Mental Health Research Group of the IIS Aragón, the University of Zaragoza y Spanish Society of Public Health and Health Administration (SESPAS).

"For every person with a gambling addiction, an average of six other people around them are affected," the professor stressed in her speech. Yolanda López del Hoyo, coordinator of the SESPAS Gambling Working Group, and in front, together with Javier García Campayo, from the GAMBLE OUT and GAMBL HID projects which were also presented during the day. Both investigations They analyze the impact of gaming on youth and develop gamified tools and online psychoeducational programs. for the detection and prevention of risky behaviors.

López del Hoyo, and researchers such as Hibai López-González and Juan F. Navas, emphasized that “We cannot speak of responsible, happy, or sustainable gaming."since they are concepts that"minimize the addictive capacity of games”. The scientific community is calling for “a strategy more based on public health, intervention based on disease prevention, and less permissive regulation.” López de Hoyo also called for “care to be taken to develop preventive strategies based on scientific evidence, and which cannot be supported by those with other interests, especially when intervening with minors” (referring to the FES project). The inauguration was attended by the general directors of Education and Public Health, Ana Moracho and Nuria Gayán, who provided data such as: In Aragon, according to data from 2022, 58,1% of the population aged 15 to 64 has gambled with money in person, online, or both.. Among the student population aged 14 to 18, 3,4% are likely to be assessed for potential problem gambling. Therefore, Gayán argued, "we know that we must act comprehensively" and in this regard, he highlighted the recent approval of the IV Addiction Plan of the Autonomous Community of Aragon 2025-2028.

For her part, Miriam Gañán, of the Aragonese Association of Rehabilitating Gamblers, highlighted the organization's more than 36 years of experience focused on prevention and treatment and warned that "the gaming sector is trying to corner areas that do not belong to it and do not belong to it in order to whitewash its image."

And for M.ª Valle Coronado, Secretary of the Spanish Society of Public Health, "the focus of the public health problem is important, because the damage involves the community and generates serious mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and even suicide." She added that "There is under-regulation of gambling and a much more courageous policy is needed, just as has been done, for example, with the tobacco problem.".

1.500 billion euros lost by people who need it to live

A keynote address by renowned researcher Mariano Chóliz of the University of Valencia concluded the first block of presentations. "In 2015, when I began studying gambling, there were no children under 26 in treatment, and just three years later, in 2018, it was already the third leading cause of treatment for problematic behaviors." But in addition to the exponential recruitment of young people at increasingly younger ages, he noted that "1.500 billion in gambling profits per year come from people who lose it, who have family responsibilities and who need it.".

His presentation also noted that The gaming industry “is a lobby that has influence on the administration, to defend their interests and move comfortably within the framework of permissive regulations.”

The call to joint action focused on the need to strengthen public intervention through regulatory policies, effective prevention strategies, and appropriate care facilities.

The presentations by lawyer Alejandro Marín Abad, Hibai López-González from the University of Barcelona, ​​José Tomás Mateos García from the University of Lleida, and Ismael Muela from the University of Granada focused on costs, neuroscience, and social determinants.

Y Researchers Alicia Monreal and Marina Ledesma, from the University of Zaragoza, presented the GAMBL projects.

Public intervention

In the afternoon, the day focused first on prevention, with the opening address by Catrina Clotas, from the Barcelona Public Health Agency, who focused on "environmental prevention."The focus should also be on environmental prevention and who has the power to carry it out.", he analyzed.

The expert also detailed successful prevention measures: “In the case of Barcelona, ​​we realized that, although we already had a regulated number of gambling halls under Catalan law […] we saw that the centers, the gambling halls, all the facilities were located in those areas of the city that we considered to be most vulnerable […]. We worked with Urban Planning to try to further limit the number of gambling establishments in the city.”

Juan F. Navas, from the Complutense University of Madrid, focused on the prevention programs, especially with young people and school-age boys and girls. “We try to generate distrust so that they leave with questions like 'why should I believe an influencer when he tells me he's making money?' What we show is that Many influencers are industry commissioners", He explained.

This panel was closed by María Pérez, head of the General Subdirectorate of Addictions at Madrid City Council, who detailed the "treatment interventions" carried out by the city council. "We work with families who come to us or those we contact at educational centers. We seek to provide tools, raise awareness, and facilitate access to them." She also discussed the development, in collaboration with the University of Deusto, of a tool "to better identify the risk of developing an addiction".

The day concluded with a final panel devoted to other topics related to gambling addiction. Nerea Etxaburu Azpeitia, from the University of Deusto, provided a gender perspective with her presentation, entitled "Women and Gambling," in which she addressed how This addiction, in the case of women, intersects with other issues such as prostitution.

The ever-relevant legal issue was analyzed by Jesús Cortés, a technical expert on gambling, who addressed the key aspects of the regulations and changes needed in current legislation to prevent and help tackle addictions. And, to close the day, Daniel Lloret (from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche) focused on theAdvertising and its relationship with gambling, another key issue of social relevance, given its impact on young people and other groups. Finally, Lloret, along with Santiago Canals Gamoneda (CSIC), presented the book "Gambling and Advertising. Health, Social Impact, and Prevention."