Gambling is not a game

According to the Observatory of Addictions and Problematic Consumption 30% of the population has some connection with gambling in Argentina where 7 out of every 100 are considered addicts. Other international studies indicate that while it may take 7 years for an adult to turn a gambling habit into a problematic consumption it may take 2 years for a young person.This problem is fed by the massive access to new technologies by stereotypes of success linked to quick money and by a current climate marked by immediacy and the dissociation of efforts deadlines and sustainability to achieve achievements.The purpose of this national research of federal scope was to make visible and measure the problem in adolescents and young people; to raise awareness in society; to build empirical evidence through scientific method and to influence the design of public policies.The conclusions reached are not related to the fun recreation laughter and mental health that characterize all gambling. If it sickens anguishes isolates generates anxiety; it is not a game.Gambling is not a game and invites to remove the word game from any link with gambling.