by Paolo Guidotti
“Let’s bet on Mugello” is the new initiative to raise awareness against gambling. It starts tonight, at 9 pm, in Barberino di Mugello. This time the campaign is held in four municipal libraries. There will be meetings, and a dedicated corner to distribute information materials, and make books on the subject available. Mugello has long been involved in gambling addiction. Because pathological gambling is a real addiction, which does a lot of damage to those who fall into the trap of slot machines, lotteries, scratch cards, betting and casinos. In one year, in Mugello, almost 52 million euros were spent on gambling. And asl and Società della Salute want to offer help and assistance, raising awareness about the effects of the game, involved associations and parishes, municipalities and schools, and now also municipal libraries. In Barberino di Mugello, in the Palazzo Pretorio, together with the heads of the Asl Addiction Service, there will be representatives of the “Anonymous Players”, who will bear their testimony on the path of self-help, while the young people of the Arci club will tell their decision to remove slot machines from the premises. A good idea that a young bartender from Palazzuolo sul Senio also had some time ago, who replaced the money-eating machines with shelves full of books. The second appointment is scheduled for June 17 (at 6 pm) in Borgo San Lorenzo: at the municipal library, journalist Umberto Folena will present the book “Why gambling ruins Italy” with an online link by co-author Daniela Capitanucci. Also on that occasion, the boys of Arci di Barberino will recount their experience.
The awareness campaign will continue on June 23 (at 9 pm) in Firenzuola in the Council Chamber with the psychologist psychotherapist Annalisa Ilari who will present the book “The spiral of the game. Gambling from playful to pathological activity”. Closes the series of meetings, on June 30 (at 21), a round table at the library of Dicomano, “Gambling prevention. Views in comparison”, organized in collaboration between the municipalities of Dicomano, Londa and San Godenzo: there will be interventions by Annalisa Lari, anonymous players, Massimo Cecchi, psychologist and psychotherapist and street educators of the Coop21 Social Cooperative.
