Italy has over 700,000 gambling addicts, group says

(ANSA) - Genoa, June 12 - Gambling in Italy is an 85-billion-euro business, with 708,000 gamblers classified as addicts and one slot machine for every 150 residents in the country, according to statistics released Friday by Genoa's Anti-Gaming Council on the occasion of the city's second-annual Gambling Addiction Awareness Day.
    "Gambling affects the weakest sectors of society and it must be fought with awareness campaigns rather than bans," said Hon. Lorenzo Basso, coordinator of the parliamentary intergroup on gaming. "Up until now the State has considered tax revenues, but the fact is that gambling weakens the national economy, because it decreases purchasing power," Basso said.
    Basso's parliamentary intergroup is advocating legislation that would prohibit gaming advertising, require local entities to conform to regulations, prohibit the State from using gaming proceeds to fund social services, and put a moratorium on new types of gaming.
    Genoa was the first metropolitan city in Italy to introduce regulations on gaming halls, under legislation brought forth by the region of Liguria.