Hit the jackpot: what is the danger of the growing number of ludomaniacs in Russia
In the recent history of addiction, there has been a trend characteristic of our time: ludomaniacs can overtake alcoholics in popularity. There are hardly more gambling players "for money" than the friends of the green snake, but they have all the conditions for competition. How people become ludomaniacs, why the exact number of addicts is difficult to calculate, and whether it is possible to cure addiction — in the Izvestia article.
Who are ludomaniacs?
Experts draw a line between ludomania, as a pathological attraction to gambling, and ordinary gambling addiction — a passion for entertainment that does not provide an opportunity to hit the jackpot, although it causes addiction.
— Ludomania is a non—chemical addiction, a variant of a mental disorder, — says psychiatrist, psychotherapist Alexey Vilkov. — Most often, the pathological attraction to gambling occurs in men. And it manifests itself in the fact that a person cannot control impulses, urges to play.
Slot machines, casinos, sports betting — ludomaniac is attracted to any action where there is a risk and at least a minimal chance of winning. Excitement and the desire to hit a big jackpot push a person to play, the expert explains.
— At first, he decides to play as entertainment, and then gradually develops an addiction, an impulsive attraction to place bets, — says the expert.
Tatiana Meteleva, a clinical psychologist and head of the rehabilitation program at Dr. Isaev's Clinic, emphasizes that the key difference between a ludoman and a person who is just playing is the loss of control. The game ceases to be entertainment and becomes a way of escaping reality, turns into obsessive behavior that a person can no longer stop, even when it destroys his life. The negative consequences of debt, theft, endless loans, and the destruction of family and social relationships are not deterred from it either.
Ludomania is a multifactorial disorder from the point of view of science. According to the interlocutor of Izvestia, her classic background is upbringing and the family system. At the same time, obsessive players grow up both in families with overprotective care, where they were not taught to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, and with emotionally cold parents.
— There are many family scenarios that are conducive to the development of any addiction. For example, triangulation of children is when a child is involved in parental conflicts or given roles and functions that do not belong to him," the clinical psychologist continues.
Where have the alcoholics gone?
According to data announced at the beginning of the year, up to 12% of the adult population of Russia (about 13 million people) may suffer from severe forms of ludomania. Anyway, 15 million Russians are registered on online bookmaker platforms, and almost half of them regularly lose money on betting. Russian citizens spend about 2 trillion rubles from bookmakers every year.
At the same time, according to various estimates, there are from 1 to 3 million alcoholics in Russia. According to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, in 2024, the number of Russians suffering from alcoholism and alcoholic psychosis amounted to 63,459 people. Moreover, the number of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome registered by drug treatment institutions has even decreased from 1.9 million in 2013 to 1.1 million in 2024.
However, experts doubt that the number of drug addicts in Russia has begun to overtake the most widespread "sectors" of addicts — alcoholics and drug addicts.
— In order to reliably answer this question, you need to rely on accurate figures, not assumptions. But the data that is being discussed on the Web still has certain grounds. Indeed, the growth of gambling addiction is fixed, and at the same time the number of reported cases of alcoholism is decreasing. But these two trends are not necessarily interrelated, and each of them has its own reasons, says Tatiana Meteleva.
In the case of a decrease in the number of alcohol drinkers, according to the expert, we are talking about a statistical error: alcoholism does not disappear, but partly goes into an "invisible" zone for the state.
— Now a lot of families, even quite prosperous, well—off and socially successful, seek help mainly in private clinics, - explains the psychologist. — And these clinics, as a rule, do not submit detailed statistics to open registers. Therefore, the official figures are decreasing, but the real picture is not getting better — people are just hiding their weakness.
In addition, alcoholism has become much younger, the Izvestia interlocutor draws attention to. Now you can meet patients with classic severe alcoholism as early as 24 years old, although previously they were people of age.
Anyway, the growth of ludomania is still noticeable and quite natural, the addiction specialist emphasizes. Gambling (online casinos, bookmakers) is available at any time of the day — all this can be found on your smartphone without getting up from the couch.
— It's much easier for a teenager to start with a game than with alcohol. Alcohol needs to be bought, hidden, consumed somehow, the smell remains from it, the behavior changes. And the game is quiet, inconspicuous, and you can hide your craving for it for a very long time. Moreover, now you won't surprise anyone with the fact that a teenager spends his days on a gadget," explains Meteleva.
According to the expert's figurative expression, for young people, the game becomes the "entrance gate" to the history of addiction. For a significant part of the patients who later go to clinics with alcohol or drug addiction problems, it all started with smartphones, consoles, and computer games.
— An important point from the point of view of neurobiology: the dopamine release from winning or even from the expectation of winning is much stronger than from alcohol, especially in the initial stages, warns the clinical psychologist. — So it's much easier to get addicted to gambling than to other addictions — the entry threshold is incomparably lower.
On the way to their downfall, the same alcoholics have to overcome the body's resistance at the very beginning — the gag reflex and physical intolerance. It takes a long time for an addiction to take the form of addiction.
How the brain of a gambler works
From a scientific point of view, the difference between alcoholism and ludomania is fundamental, although the final mechanism of addiction is generally common — disruption of the reward system. According to Tatiana Meteleva, the brain areas involved in both cases are different. If we talk about cravings for the game, then first of all the so-called ventral region of the tire (part of the midbrain) is used here. The expert calls it the center of anticipation.
— The dopamine system plays a key role. When playing, dopamine is released not only at the moment of winning, but also at the moment of waiting, anticipating the jackpot. This is very important: the feelings that an addict experiences arise not even from the game itself, but at the waiting stage. The prefrontal cortex is also critically important — in ludomaniacs it is hyperactive when they calculate strategies, explains the clinical psychologist.
Alcohol also affects the global cerebral cortex, the frontal lobes, causing inhibition. The dopamine system also reacts, but alcohol affects the cerebellum more strongly (hence the impaired coordination and speech) and the limbic system, that is, emotional memory.
— Chronic alcohol consumption leads to severe structural changes in the brain — atrophy. When gambling, if there are no accompanying exogenous factors such as alcohol or drugs, this does not happen," emphasizes Meteleva.
At the same time, in severe cases, both ludomaniacs and those who "play for the sake of the game" risk earning a real mental disorder, warns Alexey Vilkov. But this does not occur very often and affects from 1% to 3% of patients.
— In such cases, a person falls into a delusional disorder and needs to be hospitalized — he is prescribed medication in the clinic. The prognosis for recovery is usually quite difficult," says the psychiatrist.
What should the relatives of the players do?
There are many obvious signs of ludomania, and they are in many ways similar to any other addiction. Gamblers hide debts, feverishly sell personal belongings, and extort money under various pretexts. The thirst for profit goes hand in hand with a sharp decline in the quality of life with a stable income, Tatiana Meteleva emphasizes. A person becomes secretive and irritable if they do not have access to gadgets or games, and they shy away from everyday and everyday activities. Euphoria is replaced by deep apathy or aggression, depending on the luck of the game. This type of disorder requires long-term treatment by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist. In this case, methods of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy are used so that a person learns to rebuild thinking and understands all the risks and meaninglessness of such an activity, explains Alexey Vilkov.
"As with any other addiction, the first and most important thing is to stop saving such a person,— continues Meteleva. — Do not close his debts, do not pull him out of financial holes. When relatives take on the consequences, they remove responsibility from the dependent. And without meeting the consequences, there is no motivation for treatment.
And it is important to motivate a person to heal, because it is impossible to help an addict without his personal desire.
— The peculiarity of the treatment of ludomania is that there is no analogue of "coding", as in alcoholism, although in alcoholism this method is rather auxiliary, — adds the clinical psychologist. — There are no drugs that can cause physical intolerance to the game. The main method for any addiction is still deep psychotherapeutic work with distorted beliefs: "I'm in control of the situation," "I almost won," "next time I'll outplay chance."
Remission in ludomania is achieved only with complete abandonment of gambling and reasonable control over finances. And a person can lose his temper at any moment when a lot of money falls into his hands, warns the Izvestia interlocutor. Some ludomaniacs voluntarily transfer the management of their money to their spouse or parents, even if they earn money themselves and are fully capable.
"This awareness is the result of long—term therapeutic work, when a person begins to see that limitations are necessary primarily for himself," the specialist points out.
During this period, it is important to create positive motivation for a healthy lifestyle: you need to be able to relieve stress and anxiety, receive positive emotions in other, more environmentally friendly ways, such as hobbies, hobbies, interesting work, communication, she emphasizes.
Where do the "12 steps" lead
Addicts return to normal life in different ways. Alcohol lovers have their big advantage — they "cling" to the "12 steps" program for alcoholics Anonymous, which has been developed for decades.
— In addition, an alcoholic's breakdown becomes apparent very quickly, and a ludoman can hide it for a long time, which makes his remission more fragile and susceptible to temptation. It's tempting to just lie, hide, and formally remain in remission," warns Tatiana Meteleva.
By analogy with Alcoholics Anonymous, there are also special groups of anonymous gamblers. At meetings, people share their experiences, tell how they overcame addiction, and seek moral support from fellow sufferers. According to the psychiatrist, such events have a powerful effect precisely from the point of view of group psychotherapy.
However, it is more difficult for ludomaniacs to "follow the steps", in particular, to make the first of them — to admit oneself as an addict. They often justify themselves with phrases like, "I'm not sick, I'm just unlucky," "Everyone is playing, but I just have a set of circumstances." And the main danger for gamblers is constant access to gadgets. The pathological attraction is so strong that sometimes talking and philosophy alone are not enough.
"Even at the treatment stage, it is often more difficult to deal with ludomaniacs," complains the clinical psychologist. — They are characterized by certain inner beliefs, distorted thinking, which lead to the fact that they are less honest, less open, and even lie to themselves. But as for remission, ludomaniacs have better quality, if I may say so. They most often redirect their analytical mind, thirst for earnings, and excitement into business, career, and professional results and can achieve serious heights there.
In general, according to Meteleva, the success of treatment and rehabilitation does not even depend on whether a person is an alcoholic or a ludomaniac. In both cases, the key role is played by how quickly the care was provided, how motivated the patient is and whether he is able to patiently and consistently move along the path of recovery.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
