Snežana Joksimović finds every day in her son's e-mail, which she opens because her son's addiction to gambling led to prison, a call from a bookmaker with the messages "we miss you", "a chance not to be missed" and the like.
"Over the years, we have sent many e-mails to bookmakers. We even know some people because he was a really VIP client, because of the amount he was paying. We asked for help for the costs of treatment and lawyers, but they absolutely turned a blind eye to it," says Snežana Joksimović for "Vreme".
"I understand that these emails are automated, but still someone has to monitor it. There are not many people who ended up like him, so this seems like a kind of mockery", says this upset mother.
The victims of this vice and their families are particularly sensitive to the advertisements that are played on all media. Famous faces of athletes and actors invite people from screens and billboards to try their luck.
The system is not working.
In addition, Snežana Joksimović draws attention to the fact that there is no systemic support in the treatment of pathological gambling addiction.
"Someone is convicted for having committed a prolonged criminal offense of fraud because they are sick. Without violence, banditry and the like, criminal acts of fraud were committed by obtaining cash advances on the basis of a contract for entrepreneurial work in a family firm. Everything is listed in clicks on the phone in the applications Mozzart and IBET365", says Joksimović.
Her son was sentenced to five years in prison.
"There is no measure of mandatory treatment because there is not even a 'k' in the criminal code. If he had cheated as an alcoholic or drug addict, he would have been sentenced to mandatory treatment while serving his sentence. In prison, he is equated with criminals. He does not have the possibility of psychiatric and psychological treatment, he is left to himself", explains this mother.
As he says, the question of the expediency of the prison sentence also arises.
"Lay people say - I guess he will wise up in prison. It is not so easy to explain that it is not a lack of intelligence, but an insidious disease. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system does not offer treatment or programs for problem gamblers. Instead of rehabilitation, these individuals enter prison as problem gamblers and leave prison as problem gamblers with a criminal conviction, which further limits their job prospects," says Joksimović.
Parents sell apartments and cars because of their children's debts
Research shows that 30 percent of children under the age of 16 had contact with betting. Many children start betting already in the seventh grade, during the big vacation one of the older ones goes and pays the ticket for them, psychotherapist Jelena Manojlović from the SOS Center told "Vremena" portal.
This center warns that gambling is just as deadly as alcoholism and drug addiction.
During the 18 years of the SOS Center's existence, the youngest client who was in the rehab program was 17 years old, while a 12-year-old child was in consultation because his parents noticed that he had started betting, so they reacted immediately.
"Parents can notice that there is a problem because the child begins to withdraw from communication, has aggressive outbursts, loses interest in school, socializing and various activities, often does not tell the truth, but often parents react only when they realize that there are gambling debts," he says. Manojlovic.
"Parents often sell apartments and cars because of children's debts. There were also examples when they convinced children that, if they agreed to receive treatment, they would not report them for theft," says Manojlović. He adds that the treatment program generally lasts half a year.
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