When did you start fighting gambling halls?

From the Youth Assembly of Judimendi we began the dynamics against the game two years ago, since the opening of the games room in the neighborhood. It's a kind of business that has had a huge expansion in a very short time.

Why are they opposed to this kind of business?

We worked from a young point of view and we saw that the game room has a direct influence on youth, because we are very vulnerable to those rooms. Because of the precariousness of our situation and because it is another factor that conditions our free time. Besides bars, it is another tool to develop our free time within the mechanisms of the system. These were the basic reflections before we started working on the problem.

And they got to work. Where do we start?

The first thing was to be informed. We wanted to know what real effects the playroom produced in the neighborhood. We conducted surveys aimed at four sectors: one for the neighbors in general, another for the hotel owners in the area, another for a game room employee and the last for the clients in the room. With the information gathered, we draw some conclusions.

Bars and shops in the area are adversely affected by customer withdrawal. The main source of income is at stake in the room, which uses the bar as a hook offering lower prices than the other bars. Within one year, two street bars in which the room is located closed their doors. As for the clients, the profile is a man between 40 and 60 years old, the rooms are a very masculine space. They usually play individually, many are immigrants. Some neighbors told us that since the opening of the room the police presence had increased considerably in the vicinity. Finally, the working conditions of room staff are very precarious. They do very long days.

Does the relationship of young people have specific characteristics for the game?

We have seen that in youth the most widespread are sports betting and that the tendency is to wager in teams or in teams. A totally masculine world among us. Money is the main reason, but there is also a point of excitement to know who to hit, who to “know” more about sport. We consider that there are difficulties in becoming aware of the problem: “I have no problems, I only spend two euros a day.” It happens that the gains are displayed, but not the losses: The case of the young man who earns EUR 60 comes to us all; we do not realise otherwise. In addition to the money, we are not aware of the time lost and the customs it generates. The wager is not a five-minute wager, it is not an isolated action. You get used to paying attention and day-to-day concern in sports and betting possibilities.

Having received the conclusions, what was the next step?

We produce and present a report: in the school centers of the neighborhood or in the Youth Assemblies of Vitoria-Gasteiz, among others. We were called by many young collectives and social educators from the Basque Country. It was noticed that we were one of the first groups to work on the subject.

Little by little you have been expanding your gaze from the youth field to the whole neighborhood.

At the beginning of the second year, we reflected on the fact that, as it is an issue that affects the whole neighborhood, we should not only work for young people, but also extend it to other areas. We knocked on the doors of all the shops and bars in the neighborhood to ask them if they were in favor of the lockdown. We were surprised by the general misconception that they have about the room. Then we convened an open assembly with the aim of passing these views on to active participation, which did not go so well. That's always harder. The next turning point was the dynamic “No to the Judimensiondi Game Room!”. At the neighborhood level and above youth. The massive press conference had a great echo, and media from all over the state also approached. Then we distribute symbols against the room to put them on the balconies, many shops have also placed posters against the room. The next important initiative is the demonstration we will be holding on 23 June.

You have given the demonstration a dimension of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Why the jump from the neighborhood to the city?

In these two years we have had the conditions of Judimensiondi to address this issue, in an organized way to respond to the room. But we know that these rooms have also been opened to the rest of the working-class neighborhoods and not so many workers in Vitoria-Gasteiz. There may be no ability to work in all neighborhoods, but that's why we can't put it in the background. We call on all Gasteiztarras, and those who are not Gasteiztarras, to attend the demonstration on Sunday.

Initiatives against gambling halls and betting houses have multiplied in the Basque Country. Have you joined?

Soon after us, other groups also addressed the issue. Collective and non-juvenile youth. Bilbo Eragin, Azpeitian Elkarrekin asanbladak, Andoainen... We've been called by a lot of gaztetxe to explain the dynamics, we have a network of contacts, but we don't get to everything. There is a relationship between the groups of the neighborhood and other profiles that are working on the topic: the media has shown great interest, Igor Melchor has worked a lot and others.

Will you continue to work in this field after the demonstration?

We have not decided, we will have to discuss it at the beginning of the next course. There will surely be different views there. The neighborhood will continue to have a negative impact, but we also have other problems such as housing or leisure. We will have to see if we continue to offer the energy that we have offered you in these two years. Now, the important thing is the demonstration on Sunday.