ROME, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A local official of Italy said on Friday he was against the opening of the city's first casino and called for the introduction of a "vice tax" aimed at discouraging game addicts.
"I don't like the idea of Milan's people wasting their money for the benefit of the state," Giampaolo Landi, Milan's health councilor said, observing that the city boasts some 15,000 pathological gamblers.
"Practically, one out of 100 residents are obsessed with card games and betting, with almost 63 percent of them being tempted by gambling once a year," Landi said in a statement released by his office.
The casino, which will feature video-pokers and slot machines, has long been wanted by some Milanese. But according to Landi, games' fever and vice have a drastic effect on the players' health, of all ages.
However, the trouble is that minors and teenagers are the greatest game victims, especially girls, noted Landi.
Recent data showed that one out of two students aged 15-19 have enjoyed themselves with slot machines in the last year, while the percentage of teen video-poker fanatics has risen to 36 percent.
Landi noticed that Milan's students "place second at a national level, straight after the Napoletans," traditionally popular for their betting obsession.
The councilor fears the outlook will further worsen with the inauguration of the casino in a couple of days, but he's ready to do everything that's in his power to keep people away from the slot-machines for their own good.
"I am studying the possibility of introducing a game tax aimed at tackling and preventing the addiction to gaming. It would be like a 'tax of virtue' which will go in funding psychological support to gambling victims who have dilapidated their fortune playing cards or betting," he said.
In Landi's view, in fact, gaming is not just bad for the purse but especially for health. "As many doctors have demonstrated, the compulsion may lead to headaches, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, insomnia and even serious heart problems," he said.
