Saturday is ... betting day!

Unfortunately there seems to be a rise in the amount of betting and gambling in Albania. This can be seen by the increase in cafes that have installed betting facilities on their premises. There is even a sports cafe in the former restaurant where I got married, with multiple screens on the wall so you can watch your investment increase - or more likely watch your money fritter away with every goal scored.

With live football(soccer)matches on Tv from England, Germany, Italy, France and Spain every weekend, many men spend most of the weekend in the cafe watching the games.

I have a number of concerns, especially here in Albania where wages are low and many people live in debt.
1) Although many bet small amounts in the beginning, a large number find that the "buzz" of gambling goes away, and they have to increase their stakes to feel the same way as before.
2) Some see betting as a quick way of wiping out their debt...only to find that they end up deeper in debt.
3) Profits won only seem to increase the feeling that the "better" is on a "winning streak" and what is gained is used to bet again at a higher stake.

There seems to be little in education or warning in Albania of the dangers of gambling, nor of any age restriction. I see young teenage boys of maybe 13-14 years of age leaving the cafes working out how much they are "sure" to win!

I would like, at the very least, to see the government taking on some initiative to teach high school pupils the dangers of gambling.

If cigarette packets must contain a warning of dangers of smoking...surely the betting shops should advertise that you should bet only what you can "afford" to lose.

In Albania that couldn't be very much!