Psy + Onlus in collaboration with the Orthos project is launching a preliminary investigation aimed at exploring the phenomenon of gambling in the foreign population living in the territory of Rome. In recent years, the opportunities for play have multiplied and branched out over the territory, differentiating and pervading every social space. In very recent times, numerous Las Vegas-style gambling halls have flourished which in terms of turnover and social damage have nothing to envy to real casinos.

We are also constantly witnessing the opening of small spaces dedicated to gaming, in particular to slot machines, which occupy the space left empty by commercial or artisan businesses forced to close due to the crisis. A crisis that is often exacerbated by the illusion of being able to face it by relying on chance, luck. And 'so that hundreds of thousands of citizens, Italian and foreign, "invest" the little money they have in the hope of multiplying it, thanks to a pounding publicity by dealers and state monopolies. If it is true that advertising is often accompanied by the indication "play responsible" and that the gambling prohibition message for those under the age of 18 is re-broadcast periodically, it is also true that all of this is hypocritically guilty in the light of daily dramas that wreak havoc on the news and that clog the lines of aid services (often forced to do somersaults for lack of public funding). Much more and much better could be done if the rules (e.g. those established by the recent COORDINATED TEXT DL 158/2012 - CONVERTED WITH LAW 189/2012) were more stringent and if more resources were dedicated to the prevention of abuse.

But a first necessary thing is undoubtedly the investigation of the phenomenon, all its manifestations and in all the contexts in which it takes piende. Psy + Onlus on the basis of his particular sensitivity he chose to start from the exploration of the phenomenon among the immigrant population, with the aim of carrying out a preliminary survey which will eventually be followed by more in-depth investigations both on the immigration / gambling theme and on the woman / gambling theme , issues on which we do not have certain data but numerous clinical reports that predict an unimagined extension of this form of addiction.

Organizations that deal with immigration, social services and the fight against addiction, as well as individual citizens who want to make a voluntary contribution to the ongoing investigation can do so by writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and proposing its candidacy / collaboration.