Apps to combat gambling addiction
It's no secret. Gambling is a sector that does not stop growing in our country. But their growth has a negative side - addiction. With the proliferation of gambling on mobile devices, the risk is growing. But there is blocking software that can be of great help.
The addition to the game is a serious problem that has become even more evident with digital technology. Although there are applications that combat it. ©geralt/Pixabay
Is mobile a health risk?
From the website of knockouts - an initiative of the Spanish Federation of Players of Chance (FEJAR– - it warns of the risks of using new technologies of information and communication, especially among the youngest. Whether it's the trendiest social networks like Instagram, interactive games, dating apps like Tinder or online gambling in casinos and bookmakers, most interactions today are carried out from mobile devices.
According to the report of the Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) for the 2018, the age range of the most active online players is between 26 and 35 years , somewhat above the range of between 18 and 25 years that is the second most important by far. These are users who surf the internet almost exclusively with smartphones and tablets.
With access to online gambling through the mobile the risks of addiction increase . According to the study carried out by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the chances of ending up having gambling problems increase with online gambling. A risk that increases with the use of mobile phones and their optimization for online games and bets.
The data of the Ministry of Health leave no doubt. 18% of young people between 14 and 18 years of age do compulsively using the internet . This is the reason why in the strategic plan on addictions , the ministry has included mobile phones, video games and online games, that is, additions without substance, as they are known.
Raise your head!
This is the name of the campaign started by nocaigas.com and that aims to sensitize both the youngest and adults of the risk posed by mobile devices. “You are seeing your life through the smartphone, but there is much more life outside of it” , reads the slogan of the initiative.
The image of a teenager with his gaze fixed on the mobile screen is the most common and appointments are made online and no more on the street. Today there are applications that allow to counteract this addiction . Although it is strange that the best way to combat excessive and compulsive mobile use is, precisely, through a mobile application.
Locking software
In the same way that apps have been developed that allow controlling the time of mobile use and offer fun alternatives, applications have also appeared that use blocking software, that is, software that prevents you from entering pages of bookmakers or online casinos .
This is an effective way to managing self-exclusion , and it seems a perfect complement to the general registry of deprivation of access to online gambling of the DGOJ, in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities. Although, we have to warn, no blocking app can ever replace professional help if you consider that you are falling into gambling addiction.
Companies such as Gamban, which has developed one of the most effective blocking software , and the download of which is free, they actively collaborate with operators, such as the British Kindred group. It has introduced blocking technology on some of its platforms within the self-exclusion program. GamStop, Gamblock or BetFilter are some of the most well-known applications.
The industry is well aware of the risks. From CEJUEGO, the association that brings together important Spanish operators, and in relation to its particular assessment of the government agreement between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos regarding the game, it is pointed out that the sector has been carrying out for years successful initiatives in this regard . The website That Is Responsible is another of the platforms in the sector. To older, in CEJUEGO it is pointed out that
"the problem gambling rate in New Zealand remains the second lowest in Europe and among the five lowest in the world.”
