Review article

The phenomenon and the legislative regulations on gambling

Robert Torre ; Klinička bolnica "Sestre milosrdnice", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Zoran Zoričić ; Klinička bolnica "Sestre milosrdnice", Zagreb, Hrvatska
Boris Škifić ; Opća bolnica Zadar, Odjel za psihijatriju

Abstract

Activity games of chance, gambling and betting in the European Union countries are, as a rule, characterized by small or big, but surely monop listic or oligopolistic, surveillance systems. Concerning the regulation of games of chance, different EU countries have different but quite non-harmonized approaches.
In the past fifteen years, according to the legislative liberalization from state monopolistic to market regulation arrangement of games of chance, the offer, marketing material and demand for games of chance have noticeably escalated in Croatia, and, pursuant to this, the number of game of chance addicts (particularly gambling and betting) has also escalated. Since we are here dealing with an insufficiently regulated and immatu e transitional market of games of chance in an anomie society, the addictive potential of the games of chance market in our country is more emphasized.
The percentage of gambling addicts among the population is bigger in communities with a longer gambling tradition. In the countries where gambling was legalized ten years ago 0.5% of the population is made up of pathological gamblers, while in countries where gambling was legalized more than ten years ago, 1.5% of the population is made up of pathological gamblers.
The social, gender and age profile of pathological gamblers in our country overlaps with the number in developed western countries, they are married or in a serious pre-marital relationship, and, as a rule, they are people with a longstanding addiction to betting or gambling in gambling-machine clubs.

Keywords

legislative regulation of gambling; pathological gambling phenomenon; pathological gamblers profile

Hrčak ID:

57609

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/57609

Publication date:

19.8.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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