Nation-wide stance against gambling
By Inga Kakulia
Friday, November 1
Recently the number of young people committing and attempting suicide over unpaid debt from playing has increased dramatically, bringing pressing attention to the topic.
The Georgian government has been quite divided on the topic for some time now. While the opposition and some members of the ruling majority are asking for stronger regulations on casinos and their advertising, others seem to focus on the importance of the industry for the income and its value to incoming tourists.
Recently the talks about banning advertisements for gambling have become more central, with members of parliament asking for immediate attention to the topic.
Levan Gogichaishvili, an independant deputy of the Georgian parliament is one of the initiators of the proposed legislative change aimed at banning the gambling advertisement completely.
According to Gogichaishvili , so far the government has failed to protect its citizens against gambling, especially the underage players who mostly use online gaming services, where the system is set up so that it is impossible to control the age of the user. Online Casinos are also a good cover-up for money laundering, says Gogichaishvili.
The rate of Suicides triggered by gambling have going up progressively, specifically in the younger demographic. The initiative hopes to at least decrease exposure of young kids to these advertisements and billboards and hopefully reduce the number of underage gamblers in the future.
On October 30, Georgia Public Broadcaster made the decision to stop advertising gambling on their channel. The decision was made due to suicide of one of the cameramen of the channel, Sandro Beradze, who allegedly took his life due to financial debt caused by gambling.
The decision of the Georgian Public Broadcaster was welcomed and other companies have followed their step already. One of the examples is the Georgian National Library.
The head of the Georgian National Library, Giorgi Kekelidze issued a statement on his social media, saying that the library staff has experienced what it’s like to watch someone lose their whole identity to gambling.
“Where people lose themselves, where the last jackpot on the slot machines lands on the suicide rope - we have to speak up. The National Library often hosts events where there are a lot of advertisements, including gambling commercials. We have decided that we will not place such banners anymore. This is a drop in the ocean, but this drop will help someone to avoid the thirst,” said Kekelidze.
Guga Beselia, head of the Center for Gambling and Ludomania Prevention, welcomed the Public Broadcaster’s decision to reject gambling advertisements and called on other television stations to take the same step.
In addition, Guga Beselia talked about disturbing statistics and demanded that the state limit gambling advertising and raise the permitted age for playing in online casinos to 21.
“I welcome the decision of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), which implies restricting advertising to the gambling business, and I think other TV stations should take the example. But before that happens, it probably still needs to be resolved on the state level. The state should decide to restrict advertising on the territory of Georgia and this should be followed by raising the age limit to at least 21 years. What is written in the law is absolutely incomprehensible. In Online casinos the age limit is 18 and and in real casinos it’s up to 21. It is not clear why we have this difference,” said Beselia.
Various Social campaigns against gambling have also surfaced in the last month. One of the campaigns is led by Anna Dolidze, The non-judge member of the High Council of Justice.
When speaking with the journalists, Dolidze said that the campaign will hold a protest for their cause.
“The campaign has several demands, including a complete ban on advertising. Of course, before it is banned, it would be better if television and media outlets carry out such generous self-censorship themselves, so to speak. The second requirement, of course, concerns minors and children. The rest will be voiced at the rally, which we will have on Friday. I welcome this decision of the broadcaster and I hope it will have a domino effect on other media outlets that respond to it,” commented Dolidze.
According to the reaction and support for the anti-gambling movement it is clear that change is inevitable. Additional regulations and focus on the citizens and ensuring their well-being is the only way to prevent this trend from going.