According to “The Gambling Atlas,” based on data compiled in 2021, 30% of adults in Germany gamble. This figure represents a decrease from the 55% calculated in 2007, but the report still found that 7.7% of adults experience related financial, social or health problems.
Illustration: private
“Gambling is rarely fun,” Commissioner Blienert said on Monday as he presented the report in Berlin. “Gambling is a disease,” added Christina Rummel of the German Center for Addiction Problems (DHS).
The report, jointly published by the Interdisciplinary Institute for Drug and Addiction Research in Hamburg, the German Center for Addiction Problems in Hamm and the Department of Gambling Research at the University of Bremen, provides an overview of the gambling situation in Germany.
The report identified men and young people aged 21 to 35 as particularly vulnerable to problem gambling, as well as those with psychological disorders and heavy drinking.
The report defines gambling addiction as “excessive and destructive involvement” in gambling, in which the gambler loses control, gambles increasingly large amounts of money, lies to hide their addiction and becomes isolated from their society.
People with a migrant background are also at particular risk, the report said. Gambling expert Tobias Hayer told the German Catholic News Agency (KNA) that gambling can become a form of self-medication for traumatised migrants or those who find themselves socially marginalised and struggling financially.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also created fertile ground for gambling addiction as vulnerable people find themselves isolated and under financial pressure.
Along with traditional slot machines in gaming rooms and electronic games, the report identifies the growth of live sports betting as a major area leading to gambling addiction.
“When you check the Bundesliga results on your smartphone, you are immediately exposed to offers from sports betting companies,” said Drugs Commissioner Blienert.
“When young people are tempted to gamble through seemingly harmless games, something is wrong,” he said, calling for a ban on gambling advertising on television before 11pm.
However, with the German gambling industry recording a record total turnover of €13.4 billion last year and Germany collecting €5.2 billion in taxes from legal gambling in 2021 alone – twice as much as alcohol – the industry remains hugely influential.
Mai Anh (according to DW)
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