The Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Social Pastoral Commission in Argentina, Fernando Barilathti, participated in a panel promoted by the Senate Health Commission to address the growing problem of ludopathy, especially in young people and adolescents, within the framework of the bill to regulate online bets.
In his speech, Barilatti recalled the document “Betting is not a game” published by the Social Pastoral Commission in July 2024, and prepared with the contribution of more than 50 teams throughout the country, where they expressed “deep concern about the progress of online bets and their consequences in communities, neighborhoods and educational centers.”
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In this regard, he pointed out that given the severity and generalized damage of bets throughout the territory, “there was a unanimous consensus” for a national joint document.
He also mentioned a letter that on February 10 sent to the vice president of the Nation, in which they regretted that in the different provinces, “in the schools of cities and towns, in the clubs and in so many places, this scourge does not stop and, at the expense of the business of some unscrupulous, we are generating a society of ludopaths, promoting the culture of the ‘timb job”.
“The advertising of the betting sites is promoting this addiction. It is a seductive proposal that generates addicts to a disease that puts life into play. And this we see permanent in our communities,” they warned.
He also warned about the accelerated expansion of online bets in the country, “reaching adolescents and young people with a worrying intensity” and described it as “a phenomenon that combines unlimited accessibility, strong advertising exposure and economic, psychological and social risks of great magnitude.”
As for the reasons for this expansion “without limits”, it focused on society that “not only allows it, but promotes it.”
Among the “risk factors” that aggravate the problem, he mentioned: early access to digital environments, with an average age of 9 years to obtain the first cell phone, a stage in which “the brain still develops makes them more prone to impulsive behaviors”; the addictive design of the platforms, which impacts more strongly on children, adolescents and people in vulnerability; Invisible practices, because bets “usually occur in hiding”, which intensifies isolation; and the absence of adequate legislation, which leaves new generations unprotected.
What kind of country do we want to be?
The Secretary of the Social Pastoral reiterated that bets are not a game and that there is no “healthy consumption” of them, with damages associated at the psychic health level and also in the social fabric.
Within the framework of a society where many cannot meet their basic needs, Barilatti warned about the “merchants of death” that benefit from the weakness and misfortune of others, with a greater field of action where the population is helpless by the State and forgotten by society in general.
“What kind of country do we want to be? Are we adults willing to take responsibility for taking care of the social fabric, especially where it is more fragile? Do we have the firm decision to generate healthy environments that favor the integral development of people? Can we aspire to some coherence between what we say and what we do?” He questioned.
And he continued: “On the one hand, we tell young people to strive and study; but, at the same time, we multiply the proposals that invite them to ‘live from timba’, with the misleading illusion of easy life.”
“We promote the sport associated with healthy life, but we use it to spread subliminal and harmful messages, such as the advertising of online betting platforms,” Barilatti added.
He also indicated that, in schools, children are urged to be treated with respect, “to value each other, to be friendly and sincere.” However, “out of the classrooms, society is impregnated with violence and permanent confrontation,” he said.
And referring to the bill, which includes in its lines the elaboration of “pedagogical guidelines” so that educational institutions carry out educational days of awareness about the problem of gangply, asked not to load on the school “the task of repairing everything that society destroys around it.”
Finally, in a complex world for children and adolescents, he called adults to recover “intergenerational solidarity”, the ability to think about those who come behind.
“It is urgent that, from an integral perspective, let’s begin as a society to make decisions that promote a true culture of care, especially to those who are more vulnerable,” he said.
“The State has the obligation to protect the health and rights of children and adolescents, in the face of an industry that uses highly persuasive digital strategies and that can generate serious personal, family and social consequences,” he said, calling to have “courage and courage to put the common good over the economic interests of a few.”
Bets of bets in Argentina
The report Betting is not a gamepublished in September 2024, it relieved data in 360 locations in the 24 Argentine provinces, interviewing more than 9,000 people, men and women, from 15 to 29 years old. The investigation revealed that almost the total of adolescents and young people heard about online bets.
According to the results, four out of ten teenagers currently bet or bet recently; and three out of four trainers dedicate up to two hours a day.
30% of the trainers have experienced anxiety or stress for the fact that they could not have a bet, and most of the traigators (60%) consider that they win by chance, especially those who bet on casinos. However, one in five believes that the result depends on their knowledge about sport or discipline in which they bet.
Teenagers and young people bet on the equivalent of two out of three pesos they receive from their parents for their daily expenses; And three out of four interviewees know friends, friends or relatives who perform online bets.
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.