The Ministry of Health calls and the associations do not answer. The second call from the Ministry of Health to the Associations to join the Observatory established by Legislative Decree n. 158 of 2012 with the task of monitoring gambling addiction and the effectiveness of treatment and prevention actions.
In fact, it must be said that the law n. 190 of 2014 has ordered the allocation, within the context of the resources destined to the financing of the National Health Service and starting from the year 2015, of a quota equal to 50 million euros per year for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of pathologies connected to gambling addiction as defined by the World Health Organization.
THEObservatory was reconstituted last January and five representatives of the most representative associations in the field of gambling disorders are also invited to participate, divided as follows:
1) A representative of a scientific association;
2) A representative of a third sector association;
3) A representative of a representative association of families;
4) A representative of a consumer association;
5) A representative of a youth representative association.
It is the Ministry itself that underlines that a notice was published last March but no expression of interest was received from consumer associations and associations representing young people.
Hence a second public notice for the submission of expressions of interest and a new deadline, this time set for June.
The Notice is once again aimed at the representative associations of consumers and young people operating at national level, who have expertise and experience in the field of gambling disorder and who are in possession of the following requirements to be proven by self-certification:
1. Documented gambling disorder activity;
2. Representativeness on the national territory and location of the offices on the same territory.
Should the new notice also fail to take effect, the Administration will proceed to identify a representative of a consumer association and a representative of a youth representative association, in order to make possible the establishment of the new Observatory.
Apparently, in short, the company turns out to be anything but simple. Last year the justice administered also dealt with the incompatibility to cover the role of member of the Observatory, with a ruling by the Council of State which accepted the appeal of Codacons by excluding an association as in repeated relationships with the pharmaceutical companies concerned to sell drugs to cure gambling addicts rather than to prevent addiction. Now there are no applications.
