Every day in the apartments of Cairo and the cafés of crowded Giza neighborhoods, millions of Egyptians sit in front of their computers or pull their phones out of their pockets, preparing to play for hours. For most people, gaming is a leisure activity. For a growing number, this is an activity that is difficult to break away from.
Egypt is at the heart of this coercion, as some players cannot stop playing.
According to a 2023 report by Niko Partners, a video game business research firm, Egyptians It has been calculated For 40 million players, representing 58.5% of gamers across the three largest gaming markets in the MENA region, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. Egyptians are not just playing; They play longer than almost everyone else. Egyptians lead the world in daily games, Average One hour and 43 minutes daily.
Play becomes chaos
This appetite for games comes at a cost. As of 2021About 3 percent of game users in the world, estimated 2.96 billion people are addicted to games. In Egypt, According to According to a 2023 survey conducted by the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, 43.5 percent of young gamers are considered addicted to games.
Officially gaming addiction Recognized Gaming disorder, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, is a mental health condition characterized by uncontrollable gaming, which takes priority over other life interests and daily activities, and persists despite negative consequences for personal and social life.
Addicted gamers may lose basic needs such as sleep and meals, and may find it difficult to interact with others offline. According to To the 2023 study of Taibah University. It is common for gaming sessions to extend to 10, 15, or even 20 hours in a row.
According to American Psychiatric Association standards, video game addicts spend an average of 34.53 hours per week gaming. According to For researchers at the University of London.
The scale of the problem is significant, both in Egypt and around the world, with the numbers being particularly staggering among younger demographics. A A study conducted in China in 2022 found Gaming addiction affects 8.8% of adolescents and 10.4% of young people aged 18 to 35 years globally.
In Egypt, nearly a third of Egyptians, 30.5%, play electronic games, and young people between the ages of 18 and 39 constitute 34.8% of players. According to For the 2023 Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics survey. Most gamers, 46.8%, play less than an hour per day, while 3.9% spend more than three hours per day.
A 2023 study on gaming behavior disorder was also conducted by Alexandria University Found The COVID-19 pandemic has been an important driver of increased playing time among Egyptians. Lockdowns that kept people at home have accelerated habits that have proven difficult to reverse for some.
Not everyone is equally at risk
Egyptian research shows that certain demographics and behaviors make some players more vulnerable to addiction than others. The study conducted by Alexandria University included more than 2,000 individuals Found 84% of Arab gamers, the majority of whom are Egyptian and unmarried, started playing before the age of 12, and that daily playing hours and monitoring of game operators were the strongest indicators of the risk of addiction.
According to Another study conducted by Menoufia University in 2022 indicates that the people most at risk are males, who live in urban areas, sleep less, and play more hours per week, while low socioeconomic status appeared as a protective factor.
Showed strong mental health Negative correlation With the severity of addiction, the most common games played by those affected tended toward violence and heavy action, even though the reasons players gave for gaming were far more mundane, including relaxation, entertainment, and a desire to level up. Search too Links Excessive gaming leads to depression, anxiety, social isolation, and decreased academic performance.
Limited tools amid an expanding market
Egypt’s response has been to advance institutional guidance and outreach efforts. The Egyptian Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse launched awareness campaigns in residential communities. Confidential hotline Available to those seeking assistance. But awareness campaigns can go no further.
Barriers to treating and managing gaming addiction are structural. The gaming market in Egypt is not slowing down, however Revenues expected to reach $1.54 billion (73.14 billion pounds) by 2030, with a growth rate of 10.3% annually between 2025 and 2030.
Mental health infrastructure also remains limited, and gaming disorder as a clinical category remains distinct Underrepresented In public health conversations. The conditions that fuel addiction, including market growth and lack of awareness, are expanding faster than the frameworks designed to address them.
Until gaming addiction is recognized and treated as a behavioral health problem in Egypt, 40 million players He’ll keep logging in, and it’ll still be hard to see the line between hobby and chaos.