Gambling is a worldwide phenomenon. Ever since the mid-19th century when casinos spread from European shores across the Atlantic to the United States, gambling has simply been increasing in popularity. You may be thinking why?
Well, gambling provides many with a chance to turn off from the outside world. It allows people to enjoy their favourite games. It also makes a lot of people very rich!
While gambling is popular worldwide, some countries have higher casino visitation statistics than others. Countries, where casinos have been around for a long time, compare strongly to those where gambling is a relatively new pastime.
This article will take you through the top 3 gambling destinations on the planet.
United Kingdom
Gambling in the United Kingdom is a little bit different from most other countries. Whereas in a country like Italy, the main gambling method is via poker tables and slot machines, in the UK it’s predominantly about sports betting, including popular events like Caulfield Cup betting. It helps that the UK houses some of the biggest sports leagues and teams in the world.
Many people from outside of the UK even try their luck betting on British sports teams. Most of these bets go through English betting companies. This is where the gambling statistics maybe get slightly boosted.
The United Kingdom’s gross winnings sit at around $19 billion a year.
Italy
When people think of Italy, they think of beautiful architecture. Perhaps the canals in the water-bound city of Venice. Casinos and gambling might not be the first thing to come to mind. What many people don’t know, however, is that Italy has an extremely rich gambling history and culture.
In fact, the first ever casino was created in Venice, Italy, back in the 17th century. People from all over Europe trekked to Italy in an attempt to get their bite of the casino cherry! Since then, casino culture has spread worldwide!
Italy has managed to uphold its gambling culture over the years and remains firmly within the top 3 gambling countries in the world.
Italy produces gross gambling winnings of around $20 billion per year.
United States
Unlike Italy, the United States were quite late in joining the gambling revolution. Casino culture only spread from Europe to the United States back in the early 19th century. That’s nearly 200 years after Italy built its first casino!
But like with everything America decided to go big with the gambling industry. No matter where you go in the US, you’re likely to come across a plethora of casino options. And that’s not even mentioning Las Vegas – a city built just for casinos and gambling!
The United States has the strongest gambling infrastructure in the world. They produce gross gambling winnings of around $150 billion per year.
Honourable Mentions
There are a few countries that aren’t far behind those we’ve mentioned on this list. Australia has a huge gambling population. However, their citizens are more likely to play Australian online pokies than go to a land-based casino as the continent is so vast. Asia has also seen a steep rise in gambling winnings over the past few years and China and Japan are leading the race.
