Link between gambling addiction and drug addiction

Georgia Concerned About Link between Gambling and Drug Addiction

Weeks before a controversial new law on casinos takes effect in Georgia, health workers in the capital, Tbilisi, say they have uncovered a worrying link between gambling and drug addiction.


Tom Esslemont of the BBC visited Tbilisi to report on the situation, writing that in the middle of the afternoon, the capital’s busiest casino, the Ajara, was already packed with gamblers. Managers at the Ajara say they receive 1,100 clients every day.

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A gambling addict confirms what studies of brain scans indicate comparing gambling to crack cocaine --

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Esslemont spoke to Gia Shengelia, 55, who told him that gambling is not his only addiction. "Gambling is a much stronger drug than real narcotics," Shengelia said. "I used to take all kinds of hard drugs. You can stop using drugs—like I did—but it is impossible to stop gambling."

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Across town, therapists at the Anti Violence Network said the gaming trend is fueling the city’s drug problem, and that the new law could make the problem worse. Starting January 1st, license fees for new casinos will be slashed from as high as three million dollars to as little as zero in designated locations.

Drug counselor Manana Solokhashvili said this will be bad news for the clients of her clinic and for the 13 percent of Georgians who are officially unemployed.

"The problem faced by gambling addicts and drug addicts is the same," she said. "The disease is addiction. More than 90 percent of the people who come to our clinic looking for therapy are addicted to both."

She added that the new law will encourage more people to fall on harder times, rather than encourage them to try to find a job. Statistics show there are 270,000 drug users in Georgia, which has a population of 4.3 million.

One of Solokhashvili’s patients, Soso, said gambling perpetuated his drug habit. "If I hadn’t gambled I would have seen things differently. The addiction is the same. Had I stopped gambling I would have stopped using drugs sooner,” he said.

Although there are only three casinos in the city, there are more than 300 amusement arcades. Few of them let Esslemont in, largely because the managers said they don’t want to be portrayed in the media as drug havens and crime spots.

He was able to speak to the manager of the Maxi Slot club, who asks to be called Irakli. When asked whether he thinks he has a responsibility towards young people, given the allegations made by the Anti Violence Network, Irakli said, "People come here for entertainment or maybe to win money. It has nothing to do with drugs. In any case, one business leader like me is not responsible for the whole trend. But, gambling is a good income for the state—so that’s probably why the government wants to encourage it."

But as Georgia is liberalizing its gambling laws, others in the region are tightening them. Esslemont writes that Azerbaijan banned gambling in 1998; Armenia has announced that it intends to restrict gaming to three regions; and earlier this year, Russia confined casinos to far-flung parts of the country.

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Where have we heard the folly that casinos will bring tourists before? The Mayor of the Town of Salem, to the north of Boston, allowed herself to be misled, maybe by staff members who failed to conduct the appropriate due diligence, and wrongly believes casinos will provide Manna from Heaven --

The Georgian government seems to have the economy in mind as it prepares to sign into law the amendments. It says its new legislation will attract foreign gaming companies and much-needed investment to less-visited resorts and towns.

Lasha Tordia, a member of the ruling United National Movement, does not see a downside to the law. "I personally don’t see the link between gambling and drugs," he says. "What we are looking to do is encourage regional development. We want to see more tourists not only come to Tbilisi but to our Black Sea towns too. That is why we have dramatically cut casino start-up costs."

There is no proven link between Georgia’s drugs culture and its residents’ gambling habits. But the new law might sustain addictions by simply offering more places and more towns in which to gamble.