Gambling Addiction Rises in Luxembourg’s Horeca Sector

The more than 3,500 illegal money machines in the Horeca sector fuel gambling addiction. Psychologist Hamadou Zarmakoye denounces a lack of controls.

In cafes, hotels, supermarkets and restaurants in the Grand Duchy, slot machines and sports betting terminals are part of the decor.Behind the glare of the screens,a phenomenon of addiction rages silently.

Hamadou Zarmakoye, psychologist at the Zenter fir exzessiivt Verhalen a verhalenssucht (ZEV, center for excessive behavior and behavioral addictions), explains that “the real danger is almost total accessibility”.

According to figures from the National Lottery, around 4,000 machines are found today in the Horeca sector, three-quarters of which are illegal. “As soon as you open the door of a café, the game is there. A five euro note is enough to get started. we then start just to try,” says the specialist. “This can be enough to trigger a spiral for vulnerable people.”

After this first “kick”, the machine does its job. “It’s fast, stimulating and above all without pause. This detail causes the brain to alternate between dopamine during a gain and cortisol during a loss. This back and forth is the very essence of addiction.”

But as soon as losses arrive and generate cortisol, “expenses accumulate to recover. People then ruin themselves without realizing it.” once you get the hang of it,denial is common. “Many arrive here when everything has collapsed: debts,loss of job,family tensions…”

At ZEV,support is then based on listening. The psychologist analyzes his patient’s personal history, identifies the triggers and tries to put in place concrete measures. “A radical but effective solution is to entrust the financial management of the victim to a third party,” illustrates hamadou Zarmakoye.

As all is not lost: “The brain can re-educate itself, but it takes time.”

The specialist has observed an increase in the number of patients for several years.”Waiting times for a first appointment are now reaching three to four weeks,” he emphasizes.

The profiles are varied, but certain traits are recurrent: isolated people, frequently enough precarious workers, regulars at cafes, already weakened by alcohol… But “no one is immune, it can happen to everyone”, warns the psychologist.

Hamadou Zarmakoye insists that this proliferation “has become a public health issue”. Beyond individuals,it is therefore the legal environment that poses a problem.