Fim has convincedly joined the Slot Mob Movement, born in 2013 and promoted by various exponents of civil society, to fight a new social scourge that is spreading in Italy, that of the invasive and growing presence of gambling and the impact it this has on people and families.
Within a short time, the associations that have joined are almost 90 and grow with each passing day, and the Slotmob follow one another from week to week throughout Italy with a huge participation.
The problem of gambling in our country is enormous: every year more than 88 billion euros are gambled, with a net collection by the State that exceeds 9 billion.
But what worries us most as a trade union are the social costs linked to this real business: first of all there is a problem of a pathological nature (there are over 800.000 people at risk of addiction), entire families destroyed, workers (including metalworkers) who they are no longer able to work, pensioners gamble away their pensions, numerous cases of suicides due to too many debts, not to mention the mafia infiltrations that launder money through the slot machines and cases of usury that are increasingly on the rise.
The profits go to the companies that operate in the business, the costs fall on the community (health costs for player care, fight against crime).
The basic idea is similar to that of the Cash Mob that we organized a few days ago in Aversa: to reward as consumers - through a breakfast or an aperitif in a large group - the bars that have made an ethical and responsible choice , giving up slot machines, to train ourselves to vote with our wallets and raise awareness in our communities on the subject. By choosing to buy only in bars without Slots, no bartender would be willing to offer a product on the market that no one asks for. We use the same market logic, but for ethical and moral purposes. In addition to the consummation, a game is added, such as a game of foosball, to reaffirm its value when it is not sick such as gambling which leads to isolation and addiction.
Finally, we appeal to the State, to President Mattarella: the State needs to take matters into its own hands, not limiting itself to a "responsible gaming" campaign. The phenomenon, and its social repercussions, are too serious and pervasive to stop at this: action must be taken to remove the management of gambling from the commercial companies that encourage it to make a profit; the State must assume full responsibility for it.
On Saturday 7 May we will join as Fim the Slotmobs organized in over 50 cities in Italy (Rome, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Mantua, Catania, etc). We believe that the trade union must be an attentive and protagonist subject when the psychophysical well-being of workers and people is "at stake"; we too must choose where to stay and take clear and strong positions to improve our society.
