Online gambling becomes a problem as the growth of the industry is virtually uncontrolled in some areas of the world. Illiterate people are victimized by greedy online casinos that behave irresponsibly, do not offer help to people with apparent issues, do not advertise government and independent institutions that help people with addiction, and rarely create a healthy gambling environment for their clients. We want to take some time to talk about several countries that are struggling with the problem of gambling.
Australia
The number one gambling nation in the world. Aussies certainly enjoy their time at blackjack tables and love to risk their fortunes. This country is in serious need of help as the government struggles to protect its citizens from falling into pits of despair after losing tremendous amounts of money. You can easily find video poker machines, mechanical one-handed bandits, and all other sorts of similar entertainments even on streets. The loss per adult is over 11 hundred AUS dollars and this number is expected to grow even bigger. Many people are banned from visiting casinos, but they seemingly don’t care about prohibitions.
Strangely, New Zealand does not have this problem despite usually following many trends that are developed in the neighboring country that covers a whole continent.
Kenya
African people are always suffering from the invasion of westerners who bring nothing but cruelty and greed to African lands. The modern reality of Kenya is frightening with many people losing everything at the dice table or during intense card games. Online casinos are not as prevalent here as in some other countries, but locals still find ways to ruin their lives in games of chance. Local people easily get hooked on betting. Some of them are regulars at local independent bookies and will make on average 3 bets per day. Those who enjoy card games and more “civilized” ways of losing their cash become slot addicts or spend hours in darkish little houses with round tables and bad lighting.
As many other African countries, Kenya struggles economically and many citizens find themselves in a very bad situation with not enough income to get out of poverty and with dreams of becoming rich. This is a combination that pushes many towards becoming addicts.
Singapore
Many Asian nations also look hopeless in terms of the amount of addicts that lose everything to bookies and slot games. Amongst the leaders in the Pacific region is Singapore. A country that is known for exotic cuisine and amazing sights is also a nation of gamblers who lose a whooping $1174 per a grown adult with the number growing constantly despite the best efforts of the local government. Casino resorts are some of the most important revenue streams for the country and there is no escaping all sorts of problems that come with this.
Recently, the government decided to set a special fee for locals for entering land-based casinos which is quite high compared to average income numbers ($81 is a big sum for the vast majority of locals), but it did not change the landscape of the society drastically and addicts are a big problem.
Canada
Some would not believe but Canadians are amongst the richest spenders in the world when it comes to losing per adult. The number is nearly $570 which is much higher than in many European countries and even the US. Canadians regularly go to entertainment sites and enjoy their time at virtual and actual tables with live dealers. Local people spend on various forms of entertainment including horse racing, card games, slots, and online casinos that become more and more prevalent as the time goes by. Another angle to look at the situation in this country is to look at how much the government earns per adult which is a revenue number of $841 per person from gambling. Amazingly, people of this country spend even more on average than citizens of the USA that was always considered one of those nations with huge problems related to betting/games of chance.
Hong Kong
We will finalize our list with the country that is quickly catching up to the leaders in the rankings. Hong Kong is a nation of people who are passionate about everything. At the same time, this is also a country that relies heavily on tourism both cultural and commercial. Massive amounts of people arrive here to visit local hotels and casinos as well as to spend quality time on beautiful beaches. Sadly, locals also love to spend their time at table conducted by professional dealers and lose on average over $500. This is a very concerning situation and must be changed.
Even teenagers are reportedly abusing their free access to online websites with slots and video pokers losing tremendous amounts of money and developing addictions before they even become fully responsible adults.
