(Jamma) “Yesterday's victory in the Senate was a victory for the people, rather than for the Northern League. We have only become interpreters of the discomfort and suffering that the proliferation of slot machines and online games causes. It is surprising that the Government, apart from some facade declarations, does not move to put a stop to what is becoming a real social scourge that ruins families and throws people into the streets. Not only that: the criticisms coming from the left are ridiculous. In Vicenza, the administration had tried to limit the spread of slot rooms. Mayor Variati himself accused Parliament of not being interested in the problem or, worse, of not wanting to stop the money-eating machines. Now that we've done it, there are those who are moaning. It is inconceivable that it is precisely the state that profits from people's lives: we all see the devastating effects of gambling addiction. A few months ago, our province paid its blood toll: a 30-year-old committed suicide because he had lost everything on the slots, after leaving a letter explaining the reasons for his action. Just talk to the associations that deal with the rehabilitation of those affected by gambling addiction to get an idea of the phenomenon. Only a barbaric and usurer state can think of making money on the skin of its citizens". This is what Northern League senator Erika Stefani declares, regarding the motion of the Northern League which provides for a one-year moratorium on the granting of new licenses, approved yesterday despite the negative opinion of the Government.
