Frontline Soldiers Battle Gambling Addiction
At the frontline, soldiers are facing a serious problem with gambling addiction, emphasizes Pavel Petrichenko, a fighter of the 59th Brigade, who has created a petition to ban online casinos. He notes that many soldiers not only lose large sums of money, but also get distracted from their military duties, trying to secure funds for gambling. The prevalence of this issue is confirmed by the fact that 9 out of 10 soldiers at the frontline are struggling with problems related to gambling.
Soldiers Seek Emotional Escape
Psychologists explain that gambling addiction can be caused not only by high incomes, but also by the search for new emotions to cope with unpleasant experiences inherent in combat conditions. Pavel Petrichenko took matters into his own hands, creating a petition to restrict access to online casinos.
President’s Response
The petition gathered the necessary number of votes within hours, and President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to it on the same day. He instructed the relevant authorities to gather analytics and propose a solution by next week. However, lawyers point out the technical and legislative difficulties in forming such a law, considering the current legislation on regulating gambling.
Concerning Statistics
Data from the National Bank of Ukraine show that Ukrainians spent four times more on online casino gambling in 2023 than they donated to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The turnover of casinos in Ukraine is estimated at 12-15 billion hryvnias monthly, according to the National Bank’s estimates.
