A Swiss independent foundation has launched a new digital campaign that seeks to help people learn more about the addictive nature of gambling and encourage those already showing signs of gambling addiction or suffering from gambling addiction to take appropriate measures.
The new Gambling without Addiction campaign (Spielen ohne Sucht, SOS) was created by the Sucht Schweiz, an organization that works towards preventing and reducing addictions among residents of Switzerland and educating them how to avoid falling victims to one form of addiction or another.
The recently created Gambling without Addiction campaign was launched across 16 German-speaking Swiss cantons. The initiative includes advice for gamblers who show signs of problem gambling behavior or gambling addiction, including setting limits on their gambling spending or self-exclusion for a certain period of time.
Aside from its informative content, which is presented in various ways including through funny and slightly ironic videos, the Gambling without Addition campaign offers on its website information about the various options available before gamblers or their loved ones who seek help.
The website of the new initiative offers a helpline for German speakers. The service is free. Swiss non-German speakers can too receive assistance as campaign creators say they can provide interpreters if they are needed.
Gambling Addiction Rate in Switzerland
News about the gambling addiction prevention and assistance initiative surface shortly after it emerged that nearly 3% of Switzerland’s population is either addicted to gambling or at risk of becoming addicted to gambling.
The figure was provided by recent survey commissioned by the Federal Gaming Commission and the Swiss Lottery and Betting Board (Comlot) and conducted by the Swiss Institute for Addiction and Health Research.
A total of 18,832 respondents participated in the survey. Of those, 69% said that they had gambled at some point in their lives. About 2.8% of all respondents were discovered to be at risk of becoming gambling addicts, while 0.2% showed pathological gambling behavior.
About 22.1% of all surveyed problem gamblers said that they gambled online with unauthorized international companies. It is important to note that the Swiss Institute for Addiction and Health Research used 2017 data.
A new gambling law took effect in Switzerland at the turn of the year. Under the new gambling rules, only the nation’s 21 land-based casinos are allowed to conduct online gambling activities. Foreign online gaming and betting operators can only be present in the local market through partnerships with the Swiss brick-and-mortar casinos.
The nation’s first four regulated online casinos went live in early July, but more are expected to tap into the newly reorganized iGaming space in the coming months.
To prevent unlicensed operations from taking place on the territory of Switzerland, local regulators regularly blacklist unauthorized gambling domains. Under the new law, Swiss Internet service providers are required to block their clients’ access to blacklisted gambling websites.
Source: Campaign targets online gambling addicts, SwissInfo
