Madrid, Nov 1 (EFE).- The Popular Party has registered two initiatives in Congress to reinforce the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, given the growing number of people who gamble, especially on the internet.
The PP proposal explains that in 2024 almost half a million new online players were registered compared to 2023, which would bring the number of people who usually play on the internet to two million, according to data from the Government’s General Directorate of Gambling Regulation.
According to this same organization, of the total online gambling consumers, 85.7% are between 18 and 45 years old.
Along these lines, the PP requests “more and better specific measures to avoid addictive behavior when gambling ‘online’”, including improvements in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of gambling addiction in the next National Strategy on Addictions and in the following Action Plan on Addictions.
They also ask that these actions to fight against this addiction be launched based on consensus with the autonomous communities, provincial councils and local entities, as well as with professionals in the health, social, educational and research fields, as stated in a statement.
Improve self-ban
Among others, the PP’s initiatives advocate improving the system of voluntary self-prohibition of access to gambling, a tool that the party considers essential in the prevention and treatment of people who recognize that they are at risk or addicted to gambling.
This tool consists of any citizen aware of their problem gambling situation can request to be registered in the General Registry of Gambling Access Bans, a registration that prevents them from entering authorized online gambling operators throughout the national territory.
In addition, they propose increasing the minimum period to be voluntarily registered in the registry from six months to one year, given that gambling addiction care associations and experts in prevention and mental health consider that the current half-year “is insufficient to protect those affected.”
The PP also proposes that the Executive study the complementary mechanisms of monitoring, psychological support and prior evaluation in the procedures for deregistration, especially in repeat cases, to guarantee that the exit from the self-prohibition system is responsible and relapses are avoided.
