On November 13, Germany’s Federal Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert presented new research showing that 1.3 million adults in the country currently suffer from gambling addiction, with an additional 3.3 million exhibiting symptoms of a potential disorder.
The report, which was a joint effort published by the German Centre for Addiction Issues in Hamm, the Gambling Research Department at the University of Bremen and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research in Hamburg, featured data compiled back in 2021.
According to the report, 30 percent of German adults engage in gambling, and 7.7 percent of adults suffer from health, financial and social challenges due to addiction. Notably, the percentage of those who gamble was actually a sharp decrease from 55 percent in a similar report from 2007.
Researchers defined a gambling addict as someone whose gambling was “excessive and destructive,” leading to other negative effects, including social isolation and financial hardship.
During his presentation, Blienert said that gambling “rarely makes participants happy,” as reported by Deutsche Welle.
With regards to risk factors, the study noted that young people, particularly men, aged 21 to 35 were most likely to develop a gambling problem. The Covid pandemic was also listed as a catalyst for developing potential problems.
As in a lot of countries around the world, researchers highlighted the growth of sports betting and the negative impacts it has had and may continue to have on young people.
“When you call up the Bundesliga results on your smartphone, you’re immediately confronted with offers from sports betting companies,” said Blienert, per DW.
“When young people are tempted into gambling via seemingly harmless games, then something isn’t right,” he added. Blienert also called for a ban on gambling-related television advertising before 11 p.m.
The German gambling market produced €13.4 billion ($14.3 billion) in gross revenue in 2022, and the federal government received over €5 billion in taxes from the industry in 2021, which was more than double that of alcohol.
