At a session moderated by AA Academy Manager Dr. Zeynep Bayramoğlu Öztürk at the AA Istanbul International News Center, virtual betting and gambling addiction were discussed in all their aspects.
Dr. Merih Altıntaş, Member of the Green Crescent Scientific Committee, stated, “People often gamble to have fun, pass the time, and socialize. This level is one where the person can control themselves. Over time, this activity increases, and the person begins to take risks. When the person can no longer control it, addiction occurs.”
Altıntaş noted that they have observed that addiction results in not only financial losses for the individual but also losses in professional and social areas, stating:
"In the patients we see at the clinic, we encounter mainly clinical conditions such as depression, anxiety, and suicide. When this is a brain disease and treatment is required, we are talking about an illness. This is a process, and we need to recognize it at the very beginning. We need to create protective and preventive services and institutional awareness as soon as possible to prevent this process from progressing."
Dr. Eren Murat Dinçer, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Department of Psychology Lecturer and Member of the Green Crescent Scientific Committee, stated that the World Health Organization considers gambling and gaming addiction to be behavioral addictions, and that the classification of gambling as an addiction in the literature has taken 32 years.
Emphasizing that there is a huge industry behind gambling and gaming addiction, Dinçer said, "Fundamentally, there is a situation that plays with our dopaminergic system. We are in a system that programs us to seek pleasure much more quickly and not to work our brains too hard. Especially if a person is emotionally depleted and uses all these platforms as an emotional escape, then the path toward behavioral addictions is paved."
"When a person cannot be alone with themselves, they cannot recognize their ambition, excitement, or sadness"
Clinical Psychologist Emre Yılmaz emphasized that gambling addiction takes on new forms every day, and said, "We are dealing with people who love risk and excitement, in terms of personality traits. I describe them as people who cannot be alone with themselves. When a person cannot be alone with themselves, they cannot recognize their ambition, excitement, or sadness."
Yılmaz listed some signs that can be used to identify gambling and gaming addiction:
"Do they really want to make up for their losses? We often hear from families: ‘They lie a lot, they constantly manipulate us.’ At some point, it becomes a family problem because gambling affects the family and society. We may also encounter depressive phases. Some people may just enjoy the thrill. They lie a lot and constantly cover up the situation."
Dr. İpek Coşkun Armağan, Institute Social General Coordinator, stated that they had published a report titled “Virtual Gambling in Türkiye: Overview, Dynamics, and Countermeasures.”
Armağan emphasized that while conducting field research on population and fertility in Türkiye, they found that virtual gambling and betting were major causes of trust issues between spouses. “There is no mechanism in Türkiye that checks the content of games before they enter the system. While examining the games, we noticed that there were elements that could be described as hidden gambling in games aimed at very young age groups,” she said.
Armağan shared that they observed the impact of lockdown measures during the coronavirus pandemic on gaming and gambling addiction, stating, "This is a structural problem. It's highly unlikely that any human willpower could remain indifferent to something so flashy and appealing. Today, gambling is embedded even within many shopping apps. The system has completely overwhelmed human willpower. In this situation, we need to launch a multi-layered mobilization effort."
The event, which was also attended by Green Crescent Vice President Ambassador Dr. Mehmet Güllüoğlu, concluded with a Q&A session with the audience.
