Hermano Tavares is the founder of the Outpatient Pathological Gambling Program and the Integrated Outpatient Program for Impulse Disorders (PRO-AMITI) at the University of São Paulo. The doctor warned of a considerable increase in the number of addicts and advocated that the SUS expand the support network for gambling addicts.
According to him, the country has only three treatment centers for gambling disorders and the Psychosocial Care Centers (Caps) are not prepared to meet the demand. “One of the solutions would be to transform these units into ADJ Caps with the addition of Alcohol, Drugs and Games. If you are a compulsive gambler in Brazil you are in trouble. If you're a compulsive gambler in Belo Horizonte, for example, I wouldn't know where to send you," he warned.
The expert noted that surveys show that 80% of the American population has already made some kind of bet. In Brazil, 12% are regular gamblers and, in general, 2% of the population develop problems with betting. Of this total, only 1% met the criteria for Lifetime Gambling Disorder and 0.5% of individuals needed treatment.
The coordinator of the WG, deputy Bacelar, pointed out that the Unified Health System is unable to expand care due to lack of concrete data. According to him, in addition to generating employment, income, revenue and attracting tourism, the legalization of games will allow the state to offer free treatment to patients with gaming disorders.
“When you bring gaming to legality, you have data, and accurate information. It is important to know the number of pathological gamblers to establish public policies and educational actions to minimize the problem,” he considered.
Bacelar pondered to the expert that betting is part of the Brazilian reality and that only Islamic countries prohibit the practice. He singled out video game and cell phone games as one of the 21st century addictions. “Non-regulation is a setback, for all the reasons we already know. If you want to talk about addiction, just pick up your cell phone and look at the famous games like Candy Crush, or even those video games that arouse violent feelings in our teenagers,” he concluded.
Source: GMB
