Jugadors Anònims has launched in Reus the first weekly support group against gambling addiction in Camp de Tarragona. The meetings are held every Tuesday at 7:30 PM in the Church of the Immaculate Conception and are open to people from all over the region.
The group's opening coincides with an increase in gambling among minors. 17% participated in in-person betting during the last year and 12% placed bets online at least once, with a marked difference between boys and girls, according to the Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education from the Catalan Observatory of Addictions.
The group started in April and serves affected people from the entire district
The public sessions started in April and are based on a twelve-step process. The association offers peer support, but it does not include psychological or psychiatric follow-up.
Agustí, promoter of the group and former gambler, summarizes the functioning of the meetings like this.
"We have a process of about twelve steps that help us transform ourselves as people" - Agustí, promoter of the group of Gamblers Anonymous in Reus
Anonymity is part of the method. Attendees are only identified by their name or a nickname, a formula with which the entity seeks to reduce the fear of exposing oneself in an addiction that many affected people hide.
Agustí maintains that stigma continues to hinder help-seeking and that sharing experiences allows participants to feel understood by people who have gone through the same situation.
Mobile betting replaces slot machines at the entrance
The profile of access to addiction has changed in recent years. Slot machines have given way to mobile phones, sports betting, online roulette wheels, and also betting systems integrated into video games.
Among minors, the difference by sex also appears in the gaming data. 24.5% of boys made in-person bets in the last year, compared to 10.2% of girls.
On the internet the distance is even greater. 19.4% of boys bet online at least once, while among girls the incidence drops to 4.4%.
The Reus group works with a short-term focus. Agustí explains that the recovery is not a straight line and that the goal is to sustain it day by day.
"We assume that the game has defeated us. We do not fight against the game; we want to avoid, day after day, falling into temptation" - Agustí, promoter of the Anonymous Players group in Reus
The association wants to strengthen the project in Reus and extend it to other municipalities if demand allows. The entity argues that the need for support appears in large cities as well as in small towns.
Jugadors Anònims also maintains a contact telephone number operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the number 606.461.883.