Filenews 14 December 2025 - by Vassos Vassiliou
They "program" our children's brains in order to become familiar with gambling and in a few years, as a society we may have to deal with serious side effects from loss of property to loss of life. Is it possible for this to happen or are these exaggerations? Time will give the answer, but until then the saying "whoever keeps his clothes has half of it" applies, so parents do well to check their children a little or even discuss with them before control is completely lost.
And those who think that this is impossible because their child does not visit casinos, casinos or anything else, should know that children do not need to go through the above process to become addicted to gambling. A mobile phone is more than enough to do the damage. And we are not even talking about gambling but about "innocent" games, whether they are individual or played together with friends. The idea is to get the player, whether a child or an adult, into the process of "give and take" with the virtual purchase of his players' uniforms, colours of various objects that are necessary for the game, etc.
Of course, there are also cases in which someone can buy various accessories of the game by paying "hot" real money and not virtual money (as in games) but even if this does not happen, the fact alone that a child enters the process of virtual purchase, maybe tomorrow (when he becomes an adult) he will also buy with real money or even start betting on games of chance now which, until then, will be familiar to him and perhaps necessary.
We talked about the issue with the director of the Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals (KENTHEA) and counselling psychologist Mrs. Elena Zarouna, who states that "lately some online games, which are played in groups, are making a splash among primary and middle school children. As he mentions, other players in the online environment may be their acquaintances or other random players they meet in the online environment.
As Ms. Zarouna explains, in the context of these games children can collect virtual coins and use them to spin a lucky wheel that gives them some chances to win costumes and weapons for their online persona. Also, various lucky boxes with unexpected "gifts" appear. The more a player plays, the more virtual currencies they earn. According to Ms. Zarouna, in essence, the child's time is converted into money. Added to the image are the advertisements that a child can watch to win the chance to spin the lucky wheel again.
Children's modern heroes
This whole process directly corresponds to the definition of gambling, says the director of KENTHEA, who continues: "At the same time, these games are promoted by the modern heroes of children, the young adults of influence they meet on platforms such as youtube. These people play in the videos posted by these games and at the same time talk to others, explain how the game is played and what is happening at any given time. In relation to the lucky wheel, it is clear that they themselves are misled by the "illusion of control". The mistaken belief that they can exercise control over the outcome of the result, which is why when they talk to children they say "I got this uniform and it didn't happen to me". Active instead of passive voice. The whole above process puts our very young children at a huge risk. Their brains are shaped in a way that very soon they will be fully prepared biologically to depend on behavioural addictions but also evolutionarily addictions."
He further explains that people with pathological gambling are often possessed by a series of cognitive distortions, the most common of which are the following:
>> Gambler's Fallacy: The belief that a future outcome on a random event can be predicted based on past outcomes (e.g., "because it went red so many times in roulette, now it's time for black to come").
>> Illusion of Control: The feeling that a person can exert some control or influence over the outcome of a game of chance, through personal skills, routine or superstitions (e.g., a certain way of rolling dice, "lucky" clothing).
>>Selective Memory/Biased Recall: The tendency to remember wins more easily and to underestimate or forget losses, which reinforces the false impression that one wins more often than loses.
>> The Near-miss Effect: The interpretation of an outcome that was close to winning (e.g., two of the same three symbols in a slot) as an indication that the person is approaching a real win, rather than a simple loss.
>>Chasing Losses: The imperative to keep playing to regain the money previously lost, mistakenly believing that one can "fix" the past result.
>>Magical Thinking: The belief in superstitions or rituals that are thought to affect the chances of winning, despite the absence of any logical connection.
Distortions in thinking and behaviour
Can all of the above be treated, cured? Ms. Zarouna states that in the treatment of addiction to pathological gambling involvement, the therapist carefully examines the cognitive distortions with the patient so that the latter (the patient) can identify these patterns in his way of thinking and behaviour. With the help of the therapist, psychoeducation will be done on issues of probability. In the context of therapy, the patient examines the consequences of problematic involvement in his life and relationships and replaces dysfunctional behaviours with adaptive ones. A key part of therapy is the assumption of responsibility by the clients for their choices, past and future.
But when does a player, even an adult, cross the line between recreational and problematic? According to Shaffer, says the director of KENTHEA, there are the following levels of gambling: Level 0 at which a person does not gamble, level 1 concerns people who engage in gambling without negative consequences, level 2 at which people who gamble begin to face the first problems due to their involvement and level 3 concerns people who are addicted.
According to DSM 5, "Gambling disorder" is defined as persistent and repetitive problem gambling that leads to clinically significant deterioration or emotional upset, as seen in the person who presents four (or more) of the following symptoms, over a period of 12 months:
- 1. He needs to play with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement.
- 2. Is anxious or irritable when trying to reduce or stop gambling.
- 3. Has made repeated unsuccessful attempts to control, reduce or stop the game.
- 4. He often engages in gambling (e.g., persistent thoughts about reviving an old game, planning the next game, thoughts of how to earn money so that he can play).
- 5. He often plays when he feels bad (e.g., weakness, guilt, anxiety, depression).
- 6. After losing in gambling, he often returns the next day to get what he lost ("chasing" losses).
- 7. He lies to hide the extent of his involvement with gambling.
- 8. Has risked or lost an important relationship, job, or educational opportunity due to their involvement in gambling.
- 9. It shows a tendency to borrow money to deal with the bad financial situation caused by gambling.
The problem of addiction in Cyprus
How does the problem of addiction in Cyprus translate into percentages? Basic statistics of adults and minors on the problem for Cyprus are:
In adolescents, according to the espad 2024 survey, pathological gambling involvement seems to amount to 6.1%, while problematic involvement amounts to 24%.
In the adult population, according to a survey by EAS, conducted in 2022, 2.6% of the population is at risk, while 1.5% are addicted to gambling.
The conclusion that emerges based on the above and always according to the director of KENTHEA, is that: Gambling addiction has significant negative effects on addicted persons, their families and society. Any form of addiction is a chronic and recurrent disease. Therefore, prevention must be our priority. Prevention includes information, education, prohibition of entry and betting to persons under the age of 18 and 21 in relation to the casino. KENTHEA also finds an urgent and imperative need to regulate the access of minors to online games that use gambling mechanisms.
Where can someone turn when they realize that they have reached a point where they need help? In this case, there is the 1422 line for gambling.
Line 1422 operates from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm. The line is answered by Counselling and Clinical psychologists. Callers can receive information on issues of problematic gambling involvement, receive counselling if they wish and referrals to treatment programs. Individuals, and/or their friends or relatives can call the line.
Men prefer cards, dice, roulette – Women play more at the casino
Gambling is defined as the act of a person risking something of value (e.g. money or asset) in an activity (e.g. lottery, roulette, poker, lottery, etc.), with an uncertain outcome in order to win more money/items.
In a text edited by the officer of the Cyprus Addictions Authority, Mrs. Maria Savvidou, who cites international literature and studies, it is stated that men prefer games such as cards, roulette, dice and betting on sports, horse racing or greyhound races, while women seem to play more in casinos. Both sexes experience anxiety and depression, but women are more likely to report anxiety and suicide attempts. In general, the majority of pathological gamblers have a higher rate of suicidal ideation (12-24% in samples of addicted gamblers) than the general population (Raylu and Oei, 2002), a fact that will also be seen through this report, as one in four people who were in treatment due to pathological gambling reported suicidal thoughts.
Ten main conclusions that emerged from the monitoring of the phenomenon, based on previous research.
- 1. The percentage of the general population that has been involved in betting in the last 12 months amounts to 23%, while intensive involvement in gambling, on and off the Internet, (2-3 times a week), was reported by 3% of the population (AAEK, 2019).
- 2. The most popular game among the general population is the lottery, joker category (AAEK, 2019).
- 3. It was estimated that about 3.6% of the population has a problematic gambling experience, while among students this percentage amounts to 6.6% (AAEK, 2019; ESPAD Group 2020).
- 4. Student engagement rates both online (22%) and offline (27%) are well above the survey average (ESPAD Group 2020).
- 5. The most popular game among people who have sought treatment is betting on a sports agency.
- 6. Users who deal with casino games are led to treatment sooner and users who deal with scratch cards/state lotteries and Tombola/bingo are led to treatment later.
- 7. The profile of the user in treatment is: Male, 34 years old, Cypriot, with a high level of education and stable employment.
- 8. About one in three people who were in treatment due to pathological gambling experience depression, anxiety and other mental disorders
- 9. The most serious problems reported by the people who were in treatment were Financial Problems, Mental Health problems, family problems while a significant percentage reported suicidal thoughts (20%).
- 10. A high percentage (35%) show premature abandonment and discontinuation of treatment.
The FAROS program of KENTHEA
The FAROS program operates in Limassol and provides counselling and psychological rehabilitation services from problematic gambling on an external basis. The services concern addicts and their families. Individual, family and group interventions are offered. The program is licensed by the Cyprus Addictions Authority and funded by the National Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority, through AAEK.
There is also the MOTIVATION Paralimni program of KENTHEA
The KINITRO Paralimni program provides counselling and psychological rehabilitation services from problematic gambling on an external basis. The services concern addicts and their families. Individual and family interventions are offered. The program has specialist psychologists and a social worker.
The program is licensed by the Cyprus Addictions Authority and funded by the National Betting Authority through AAEK.
Self-exclusion
A useful tool for people whose gambling involvement has gone beyond recreational activity and is heading towards problematic or pathological involvement is the use of the self-exclusion tools available on the one hand from the National Betting Authority on https://www.exclusion.cy/ website and from https://www.cypruscasinos.com/gr/responsible-gaming licensed casino.
