The meetings are designed to provide young people with tools to address the situation.
Argentina.- The Municipality of San Fernando organized a workshop on the risks of gambling for high school students, which is offered for free in both public and private educational institutions.
At the Colegio San Martín de Tous, one of these meetings was held with female and male students. There, the coordinator and trainer from the General Directorate of Human Development of San Fernando, Marcia Rosín, explained: "This issue affects a large part of the population, specifically adolescents, and brings serious problems in various areas of their lives".
She added: "What we adults need to do is support the young people in making decisions, because they are exposed to games through mobile devices that they always have at hand."
In these meetings, the students become aware that online gambling addiction is an economic risk, because to play, the person must use their money with a strong promise of winning; and through misleading advertising, they are shown that if they put more money, they will win more, and that they will have another chance if they lose. This generates social problems such as isolation, school dropout, anxiety, or depression.
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Furthermore, they learn what signs to identify to help someone who might be suffering from gambling addiction, such as spending a lot of time gaming, lying, financial problems, loss of interest in activities or in interacting with people, poor academic or work performance, or mood changes.
