Online gambling and “compulsive” internet use on the rise in Spain

Online gambling and “compulsive” internet use is on the rise in Spain – particularly among young people – according to a Ministry of Health study.

THE preliminary results of the latest Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs in Spain (Ages), of 18,000 people aged between 15 and 64, revealed obsessive use of the internet and online gambling with money involved has risen considerably.

More than a million people – 25 per cent more than in the 2017 – admitted to having a “maladaptive relationship” with the internet, having “lost control over its use” and even experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

The survey also found that 7.6 per cent of the population in Spain gamble with money online.

Between online and face-to-face, some 670,000 people have problematic gambling behaviour,” reveals the survey authors.

“Online gambling and compulsive shopping have risen significantly. In our unit, they already represent 28 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, of the reasons for consultation”, Cristina Martínez, doctor in Psychology from the Pathological Gambling Unit of the Mataró Hospital, told La Sexta.

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