Online betting fuelling rise in gambling addicts

The number of gambling addicts is on the rise due to the explosion of online betting in Ireland.

Clinical director of the Rutland Rehabilitation Centre, Fiona Weldon, said having betting literally at your fingertips has sparked a rise in the number of gambling addicts.

“We’re seeing at the Rutland Centre an increase in people gambling online,” said Ms Weldon. “You can do it on the phone and on the internet. It’s very accessible to everybody.

“We are seeing a lot of younger males, particularly between the ages of 20 and 35, who are presenting for the first time for a gambling addiction.

“I am very struck by the level of debt these people are in. Very often, they are starting earlier in their life and it doesn’t seem to become a problem until later.

“You are walking around with a bookies in your pocket, and for somebody who is entering into treatment and working on recovery, it is something that very clearly needs to be addressed for them.”

The Gambling Gene, an RTÉ documentary that examines the peculiarly Irish obsession with betting, reveals that the market here is worth a staggering €2bn.

Ms Weldon said new research suggests that addicts demonstrate impaired judgement in the betting arena. “What’s noticed in gamblers is the frontal part of the brain, which is the part of the brain involved in judgement, isn’t so active when there is something pleasurable going on like sex or food or gambling,” she said.

“The pleasure centre of the brain, the dopamine system, is very active at that point, and it makes it less likely that the person’s judgement in the frontal part of the brain is going to kick in.”

Meanwhile, the original rogue trader, Nick Leeson, believes Irish people have a more relaxed approach to risk-taking, and tells how he has been clapped on the back by strangers in Galway for his infamous dealings.

He also says in the documentary, which is presented by Joe O’Shea, that he believes the previous government gambled the country into recession just like his actions broke Barings Bank.

The former star trader said he does not believe the more strait-laced German regulators would ever have allowed Irish banks to run amok during the boom.

- The Gambling Gene will be shown on RTÉ Two on Monday at 9.30pm.