Virtual gambling

I grew up along the Yoroz, Faroz, Moloz line.

I was born in Faroz.

For those who don't know, let's just say it's the harbour neighbourhood where Trabzonspor was born, famous for its tough guys.

The Liverpool of its kind.

That's where I first encountered gambling.

I don't remember exactly how much money we had in our pockets, but we used to play for fun with friends in a ramshackle place under the stairs they called a coffeehouse.

When the game was over, everyone took their money back — there were no winners and no losers.

Then the American adventure began.

We discovered Atlantic City, two hours from New Jersey and New York.

Right on the Atlantic shore — a proper holiday town.

A dazzling, enormous casino.

You couldn't tell if it was night or day.

A multi-storey car park that seemed to go on forever.

Hundreds of slot machines, green baize tables, roulette balls spinning on wheels.

Beautiful croupiers calling "no more bets."

The strange sounds of machines hitting the jackpot.

Free all-you-can-eat buffets overflowing with lobster.

Concert halls.

The year was 1995.

Before heading to Atlantic City, we used to hang around the amusement parks in Ocean City and pass the time.

In those areas, because there weren't many immigrants, we got a closer look at the American way of life.

In Atlantic City, President Trump had a casino.

Again, I had little to no money in my pocket, but I was there for the fun of it.

Entry was free.

I'd spend time on a hundred-dollar budget, eating and drinking for free.

For a young man from Faroz, it wasn't a bad scene.

Sometimes I'd win up to 500–600 dollars, but in the end I'd leave whatever I had in Trump's till.

Just like now.

Trump always won.

Because the casino was far from city centres, going regularly was out of the question.

You needed plenty of free time.

Just like Batumi or Cyprus.

But then virtual gambling changed everything.

Online gambling, which took off especially after the pandemic, moved into a whole new dimension.

It moved into our pockets.

Those of us who, in our early youth — and we're still in that early period — stayed away from all this, hit a wall.

They became victims of virtual gambling.

There is almost no one who doesn't place bets.

Even children have plunged into this.

We hear of people losing their homes and cars and going into debt on top of that.

It has also become a leading cause of divorce.

For now, it makes the news through individual suicides.

Very soon, we will also witness mass suicides.