A group of neighbours and neighbours of Sopela have presented the exhibition "Gambling halls outside Sopela!" with the motto have created a movement against the betting houses of the people. On the occasion of the extension of the Arrigorri games room, this is an initiative to show the rejection of such establishments. In this sense, they have explained that they intend to "awaken the debate and shake the collective conscience" on these issues in the people. In his view, "everywhere we see explicit announcements of these types of companies and it seems that there is no relevance to the harm that these types of companies inflict on the working people".

They have denounced that, as in the people, "the presence of drugs has grown enormously", "gambling dens are also an activity that promotes the situation of dependence in the working class, which gives great benefits to a few". They have also added that in the current crisis situation and in the centre of Sopela, a room of this kind will "multiply" this phenomenon.

The objective of this popular movement of Sopela is to make visible and socialize the damage that gambling halls cause the people, so that they can see the people as a stranger. In addition, they have demanded that gambling hall users be stopped from being criminalised and that "the economic benefits and social control of those who are interested in expanding these types of business models be fine-tuned".

Pathological gambling in the CAV

The project has been justified by the fact that in the CAV there are 43,000 people with problems of gambling and that in the Spanish State we are also the territory with the highest density of betting houses. "In this sense, Sopela is no exception, and proof of this is the expansion of the Arrigorri gambling hall in the center of the village by the hand of Recreativo Uribe Kosta."

The Basque Game Observatory reported in its 2019 report that 0.2% of the Basque population plays by dependency, which is 1.3% for those under 35 years of age. Other studies indicate that in the Basque Country one in three young people make sporadic bets, and that 66% of the consumers of these practices are under 35 years of age. In 2017, CAV played 340 million euros in gambling, 113% more than in 2012.

Doubling the Arrigorri site

The City Hall of Sopela authorised the expansion of the Arrigorri gambling hall in October 2020. Thus, the establishment of Recreativo Uribe Kosta goes from 108.49 square meters to 229.16 meters, acquiring the place that used to occupy the restaurant Mec Mec.