Sisal greenwashing: responsible gambling cannot exist

If you want to get a sense of the greenwashing applied to a serious social problem, fueled by major public and private interests, take a look at the Sustainability Report of Sisal , one of the two Italian giants (the other is Lottomatica) that control the gambling market. Lots of fine words, research shared with universities, algorithms and artificial intelligence across the board, and one watchword: responsible gaming.

First of all, this beautiful label is missing another crucial word: gambling. Gambling on matches, from soccer to tennis, or even horse racing, is exactly like poker: a game of chance, and should be classified as such. And it can never be held responsible, since gambling (derived from the Arabic az-zahr, meaning dice) is the opposite of responsibility. This, of course, doesn't mean that all gamblers in Italy are compulsive gamblers , even though they spend nearly €20 billion a year on this game. To this must be added illegal betting, which is certainly not accounted for.

If responsible gambling doesn't exist, there are instead real people, with names and surnames, 1,5 million gamblers considered "problematic" (wasted lives). These are the ones Sisal, in its phantom "sustainability strategy," feeling like the UN with its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, would like to eliminate by 2030. Fairy tales.

The reality is made up of the turnover of Sisal and Lottomatica, their pharaonic profits, and the impotence of a State that collects 10 billion euros a year from gambling, even though it then spends around 6 billion to treat people suffering from gambling addiction (the majority of whom belong to the low-to-medium income bracket).

If anyone really wanted to fight against gambling , a sector in which we sadly hold the European lead after Finland and Ireland, there would be many decisions to make. Increase taxation in the sector, investing the new revenue in preventing gambling addiction. Start with widespread campaigns, especially in schools . Build a culture similar to the one that led to the smoking ban in many areas where toxic substances were present. Encourage the reduction of betting shops, as many isolated municipalities already do. Minimize the advertising permitted by gambling companies. All useful and concrete things, but Sisal certainly doesn't like them. So, better to celebrate ourselves with a Sustainability Report, with a touch of greenwashing, and invent Responsible Gaming.

Read also:

• Gambling addiction: what it is, how to recognize it, and how to combat one of the most widespread addictions of recent years.
• Tarlo: the association of game artisans fighting the gambling addiction virus.
• The mayor has decided to ban slot machines in Spino d'Adda to combat gambling addiction.

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