“I Knew Nobody Would Judge Me”: Addiction to Online Gambling from a Gender Perspective

Aim. To approach the specific problems of women with online gambling disorder from a gender perspective. Material and Method. Qualitative study carried out in 2019 through 10 discussion groups made up of patients under treatment and professionals. Six were with patients of legal age in treatment for online game related disorders. They were complemented by an individual interview with a woman in treatment. Four went to professionals (psychologists and social workers) with experience in dealing with online gambling. In total, the speeches of 41 patients (3 women and 38 men, with an average age of 30 years) and 28 professionals (20 women and 8 men, with an average of 36 years) were analyzed. Results. The results of the 12 nodes coded in the whole of the research related to gender issues are presented, summarized in 5: Hegemonic masculinity; Online players: little presence and visibility; Double penalization, stigma and violence; Greater comorbidity associated with gender mandates: playing to escape; Single women and difficulties in accessing resources. Conclusions. During the study, previous findings from the literature that assimilated substance addiction with online pathological gambling in women have been confirmed. This similarity is based, among others, on the reasons that trigger addiction, greater comorbidity, stigma and double penalization, intersections with gender violence, loneliness when facing treatments and invisibility in services.