Casinos, social anxiety and the PlayStation Vita

I remember very clearly the first time I went into a casino. I was very recently of age, and my older brother and his friends took me on a guys’ night out. With it being Paraguay, it wasn’t a very classy place, sure, but it meant business. That was ever such a long time ago, though. Ever since then, I’ve developed not-so-mild case of agoraphobia and social anxiety, which means that whenever I choose to have a quick game of blackjack (my personal favorite), I end up looking at the Best Live Casinos online rather than my local establishment. And to be quite honest, it’s a bigger deal than you might think.

I’m not the only one in this conundrum, you see: in the U.S. alone, over 40 million people (so two-thirds of the entire UK. population) suffer from some kind of anxiety disorder, with over 7 million of those suffering from G.A.D. (generalized anxiety disorder), all of which makes it extremely difficult for these people (people like me!) to interact in public, crowded places.

While I look back fondly at my outings with my older brother (whom I admire very much), it is inconceivable to me to think about going to a real-life casino again, at least for the immediate, foreseeable future. Which is why I tend to play online: it’s safe, regulated, just as much of a thrill, and I can do it in my pajamas. And the best thing of all? I don’t have to suffer from crippling anxiety attacks.

This, however, is all done on the computer. “Why”, I hear you ask, “don’t you simply play on your Vita? It’s more comfortable, compact, and you can play from bed!”. Well, as we’ve covered before on the site, the Vita’s built-in browser does not support Flash. That means the options to visit online casinos on the Vita are somewhat more limited. Would I prefer it? Yes. But let me tell you, I much prefer getting to the PC and turning it on, than getting dressed up and face the harsh reality of the outside world.

Is this the reason the Vita was killed off by Sony? I doubt it. There were multiple reasons for that, not least the high cost of getting memory cards for it. But it will certainly not help with the longevity of the Vita as a legacy device. I will continue to have to use my computer, as casino sites do the migration from Flash to HTML5.

“Why do you need to play blackjack?” might be your next question. Well, the truth is, I don’t. But I’m 33 years old now. I have a beautiful wife, and a beautiful home. And if I want to see if I’ll stand on my 16 or hit and see what happens… I think I’ve earned the right to do that, without having to suffer from anxiety attacks. And so have you.

Facebook Comments

About Marcos Codas 384 Articles
Lover of portable gaming and horror cinema. Indie filmmaker and game developer. Multimedia producer. Born in Paraguay, raised in Canada. Huge fan of "The Blair Witch Project", and "Sonic 3D Blast". Deputy head at Vita Player and its parent organization, Infinite Frontiers. Like what I do? Donate a coffee: https://www.paypal.me/marcoscodas

Be the first to comment

Got any thoughts on this? Let us know!