Seeing Las Vegas as the capital of gambling might not be wrong, as the biggest market overall is by far the US. But the biggest spenders per capita on gambling is not as obvious, with Australia and Singapore leading the pack.
Also, all European island nations are in the top 15 globally, and in this order:
- Ireland at #3
- Britain at #10
- Iceland at #11
- Cyprus at #12
- Malta at #15
On average, every Maltese spends more than €200 every year on gambling, mostly focusing on lottery and casinos. In that regard, we are most similar to gamblers in the US, while most other European nations focus much more on online gambling.
And while Australia is known for loving the ‘’pokies’’, that is not where most people in the country spend their time and money. Namely, slot machines and other gambling machines outside of casinos is a much bigger draw than online and casinos combined.
Online taking a bigger cut
Online gambling has seen a huge rise in popularity in 2020. This has prompted both increased supply as well as some perceived risk. People are informed not to be tempted by unlicensed operators, which are now fairly common on social media.
This is somewhat good news for Malta as the Gaming Commission’s license is considered a gold standard globally and sought after from all credible online operators.
Although it is still unknown what the future will bring, the industry was on a rising tendency even before 2020 and it is bound to keep growing at least for the perceivable future.
Aussies at the very top
Australians are, by far, the biggest spenders per capita on gambling. Surpassing Singapore who is in second place by more than 25 per cent, Aussies spend more than €800 per person every year.
But with everything going on and the country passing from fires to floods to pandemics this year with little time to breathe in-between, it seems like online pokies will be the go-to in the country for the time being.
The slot machines that are the country’s favourite have a very clean transition into the digital world and are arguably even better to play from a smartphone or mobile device.
Still, we will need to wait for next year’s reports to see if the misfortune that was 2020 affected the gambling market in the fellow island nation at all.
Malta ranks at #15
Spending over $100m in total, the Maltese secured their place as one of the biggest gamblers in the world. But, unlike most markets, we keep our gambling spending more or less traditional.
Online gambling is only a minuscule part of the spending, as well as sports betting.
But, what isn’t spent online is spent in one of many casinos in St Julian’s and Sliema, with the adult populations spending more than €100 on average every year. The lottery is the next biggest draw, especially with the older population. This is predictable as most people are used to buying tickets with every shopping.
China’s tricky market
China is the second-largest market in the world, even though most gambling is banned on the mainland. This is because the statistics include Hong Kong and Macau, both being considered gambling hubs in the East.
The Chinese are almost exclusively casino players, but with a visibly rising online market. In many ways, a Chinese gambler would feel at home gambling in Malta, as the preferences are quite similar.
Italy is the biggest European market
With more than $19 billion spent on gambling every year, the title of the biggest gambling market in Europe goes to our northern neighbours who are also at #9 when it comes to per capita spending.
But, unlike most big spenders, the Italians spend almost no money in casinos. As do the Australians, most people prefer slot machines and lotto, with 60 per cent of all spending going to the former.
Also, what may sound strange, sports betting doesn’t make a huge percentage of the expenditure with the Italians and Maltese spending proportionally the same amount of money betting on their sports teams.
While for Malta this isn’t surprising, Italy has a long tradition of Toto Calcio and it is strange that such a pastime is not as widespread as it seems at first glance.
Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/.