(Jamma) From the dossier "Ludopathy in times of crisis" presented during the Fipac 2013 Elective Assembly which was held this morning in Rome, it emerges that one pensioner out of four is a gambler, a total of 1,7 million. The president Massimo Vivoli specifies: "According to our estimates, 1,2 million over 65s are problem gamblers, 500 thousand are pathological". An addiction that is worth about 5,5 billion euros a year. According to the report, on average, a pensioner spends 266 euros a month in pursuit of fortune, 400 euros if we consider those affected by ludopathy.
"There is awareness on the part of Fipac Confesercenti - declared Vivoli during his report - of what the condition of the elderly is today in our country, of the profound crisis affecting all welfare, pensioners, the fate of the social system in Italy. The economic crisis we are experiencing has not only led to a loss of purchasing power and consumption, but has aggravated the deep sense of social loneliness and increased despair, feelings which translate into the impossibility of living everyday life normally.
It is therefore the search for well-being, also through luck, the need to overcome the state of poverty, which has led to the growth of the phenomenon of "trying to win the game". It is no coincidence that, on the occasion of our 2013 elective assembly, we wanted to present a dossier: "Play has no age", which reports on the seriousness and exponential growth of this phenomenon.
To date, gambling addiction is still little known compared to other forms of addiction such as alcohol or drugs. Yet its effects are just as devastating, both on the psyche and on the economic and social context of the victim. Italy dominates with 22% of the global gaming market, but the State collects only 10%, at best. Overall, the elderly gamble for 5,5 billion euros, about 3200 euros a year and 266 euros a month. This average figure fluctuates between the 100 euro spent by non-pathological elderly players and the 400 euro spent by those who are now ill”.
Faced with these numbers, Fipac Confesercenti intends to help the elderly and pensioners also through a support network. Several branches will be set up in the main headquarters of the organization, where a team of traveling experts will be able to respond to requests for help that will arrive. The ultimate goal is to give back to the word "game" its best synonym, fun, a system that distances itself from being perverse and pathological.
