Smartphone addiction that begins in infancy is spiking youth gambling rates in Russia, a leading psychologist has warned.
The comments came from Lilia Shuvalova, a lecturer in the Sports Management Department at Synergy University’s Faculty of Sports, the Russian newspaper Ru News 24 reported.
Shuvalova was speaking as anti-gambling advocates call on the Kremlin to act fast to stem betting addiction-related problems.
Per statistics released earlier this year, up to 12% of Russian adults, or some 13 million people, suffer from “severe forms” of gambling addiction.
But experts say youth gambling figures are more alarming still. Clinical psychologists say children as young as 10 to 12 are now receiving treatment for gambling addiction.
“The number of patients [aged 12 and below] has grown significantly,” Vladimir Zemelkin, a lecturer at the Obraz Mysli Institute of Psychology, told the Russian media outlet Business FM.
“It’s reached the point where we have had to create a dedicated department for treating adolescent patients.”
Smartphone Addiction: Youth Gambling Rates Spiral
Shuvalova said smart devices stimulate children’s dopamine pathways in ways that can eventually force them to seek out online gambling platforms.
When a child has unsupervised and unchecked access to smart devices, they are more likely to develop gambling addictions in adulthood, she explained.
At first, children become hooked on seemingly harmless smartphone games and social media videos, the expert said.
But these forms of entertainment “soon become boring,” Shuvalova said. The brain eventually “craves even more stimulation,” she added.
In situations like these, online casinos and betting become a source of dopamine release, the psychologist said.
“When a parent even chooses to feed their infant child in front of a smartphone or tablet screen because the child refuses to eat without this, it [creates] a direct path to gambling addiction in the future,” Shuvalova said.
Shuvalova warned of an “explosive growth” in youth gambling. She said that socioeconomic factors and the “massive influx of digital information and gadgets” were both to blame.
The expert said that short-form videos are harmful for rational thinking, and render consumers “susceptible to so-called dopamine addiction.”
Psychologist Says Smartphone Usage Drives Addiction
“For the brain, it doesn’t matter whether this dopamine rush comes from playing online casinos, betting [offline], or watching reels,” Shuvalova warned. “The effect is virtually identical.”
Shuvalova said Russian public and private medical institutions can help treat online gambling addicts of all ages. But she said that parents often think twice about seeking help.
“Gambling addiction is often under-diagnosed, and loved ones are reluctant to send the [addict] to a doctor, wasting precious time,” Shuvalova said.
“It is easier to prevent or treat addiction in its early stages. But in our society, the early stages are often ignored, and treatment is sought only after gamblers have lost all their money,” the psychologist concluded.
Influencers are to Blame, Says Commentator
“Teenagers aged 16-17, and even younger, are already getting drawn into gambling,” Yuri Shapkin, a gambling addiction specialist, told Business FM.
Shapkin laid the blame at the feet of social media influencers who promote online casinos. Advertising online casinos is not yet illegal in Russia.
Politicians, however, hope to pass a law outlawing all forms of online casino ads before the end of the year.
“When they look at their idols and people they want to emulate, young people don’t realize the enormous danger of what [the influencers] are advertising,” Shapkin said.
Earlier this year, a Russian clinical psychologist warned that government plans to legalize online casinos could put residents of remote regions at greater risk of addiction.
This month, security service officers confiscated bags of cash from a payment firm accused of processing payments for over a dozen online casino platforms.
