Therapists providing therapy to people addicted to gambling have spotted a sharp rise in addicts seeking help over cryptocurrency speculation, reports show.
An ITV News report found that cryptocurrency investing became more popular during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
One man interviewed by ITV said, “As it was going on, it was having more of an effect because I was putting a lot more money into it. I was investing before but then after I was gambling. I was just watching this coin go up and down with any money I’d got. I was doing it as a day trade rather than like leaving it for a year or something.”
He added that he would frequently invest in cryptocurrencies to “make quick money,” but soon began to obsess over trading.
“I was constantly on my phone, constantly looking at it, just detached from everyday life,” he said.
Castle Craig rehab centre therapist, Tony Marini, said he had seen roughly 200 people hit by crypto trading addictions since 2016. Many addicts were young men affected by the pandemic and isolation from national lockdowns, he alleged.
Marini explained that he had researched over the last six years, speaking to many people and found similar behaviours and addictions to gambling.
He said: “The isolation, the fantasies about making money, being able to get the fast cars, the big houses, and then that depression starts to come in. You know, they crossed that line into the addiction and they isolate away from everybody. They start telling lies.”
According to Castle Craig, such addictions affect 9 out of 1,000 people while “a further 70 people out of every 1000 participate at risky levels that can become a problem in the future.”
