As part of its finance bill, the government would like to reconsider the practice of online casinos and legalize it. While some see it as a way to recover money, others are concerned about the impact the practice can have on users’ health.
Would the government let the wolf into the fold? As part of his finance bill, the latter would like to legalize and regulate the practice of online casinos. A decision which worries the scientific community about the associated risks of addiction.
An illegal business
In a study relayed by Franceinfo, we learn that while 62% of French people are in favor of legal regulation of online casino games, the majority of players are unaware that this practice is today illegal.
Popular category of games, certain companies like Google saw a goose that lays golden eggs with a commission that could be higher on these games and have welcomed more and more of them on their platform since 2021, as reported 01net.
A danger for users
For some members of the scientific community, there is a real danger around online casinos. In 2023, four addictologists and a socio-epidemiologist published a column in Le Figaro to raise awareness on the issue, indicating that online casino games present “all the risk factors for addiction to gambling »but creates a faster addiction thanks to the speed of execution of the games.
Michel Lejoyeux, professor of psychiatry and addictology at Paris Cité University, declares for Franceinfo that according to him, advertising is much stronger than the public health discourse” and warns of the arrival of a “potential drug”.
If the area of health is at the heart of concerns, that of scams is just as much. Platforms, like Twitch, had to take a stand in 2022 on the issue by outright banning games of chance. in the United States or other countries where consumer protection is not sufficient ».
A decision taken, after major streamers threatened to stop their activity. The latter had come together to demand a ban on these games following cases of scams of which subscribers had been victims, reports the Huffington Post.