Online Gambling and Bitcoin Investing to Be Treated at Same Scottish Clinic

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

The connection between Bitcoin and online gambling has been mostly associated with the use of the cryptocurrency in online casinos due to the benefits it provides to punters, such as private transactions, more profits due to fluctuating prices, as well as the opportunity to move funds faster. But now a Scottish rehab clinic has opened up a new program that would treat people from buying and selling cryptocurrency in much the same way it treats problem gambling.

Bitcoin Trading “Akin” to Problem Gambling

Buying Bitcoin online and selling it to make a profit on the fluctuating prices could be a doorway to gambling addiction, according to a Behavioral Addiction Professor from the Nottingham Trent University, Dr. Mark Griffiths. As the Sun reports, Dr Griffiths believes that trading Bitcoin is similar to problem gambling as it provides traders with “an escape from reality”.

Griffith’s opinion is mirrored by therapist Chris Burn, who specializes in treating problem gamblers. According to the therapist, traders can become addicted to the excitement of watching their trading screens online throughout the day while they are waiting for a profit, just like compulsive gamblers get the thrills from gambling online for hours to earn more money. And since getting started with trading cryptocurrencies is quite easy for most young people, Burn believes that this “problem” could get worse “quite soon”.

Burns works at a Scottish rehab clinic which is now launching a new program aimed at treating people from the “addiction” of trading Bitcoin. Other doctors at the clinic likewise believe that the sort of behavior that sees traders consumed by their investments is the same as high-stakes gambling online, which was likewise made relatively easy by the fast expansion of online casino sites.

Other medical experts also agree that Bitcoin trading could become a bigger behavioral addiction in the future, much like online gambling is thought to be, with traders obsessing over price fluctuations as problem gamblers obsess over wins/losses.  According to statistics, nearly 13 million people across the world engage in trading the cryptocurrency.

Hospital to Treat Bitcoin Addiction with Former Problem Gambler

The Castle Craig Hospital, which offers rehab to people from Scotland and the UK for problems with alcohol, gambling, and drugs, has recently opened a new program that would treat individuals from cryptocurrency trading. According to local news sources, the program was opened after the hospital began receiving requests from people who suffered problems from cryptocurrency investing.

In a statement to the media, the Scottish hospital said that the volatile nature of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can induce a “high” with people who trade the assets, which could be both “addictive” and “exciting”, and much like problem gambling, lead those individuals to financial ruin.

The program will be lead by Chris Burn, who says that the “high risk” market of cryptocurrency trading could particularly appeal to problem gamblers. Thus, the hospital is leaving some of the treatments to a former gambling addict, Tony Marini, who will reportedly bring his experience and empathy towards other addicts into the treatment sessions.

May 30, 2018: • No Comments

Comments are closed.