Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world, but Americans are not the most thirsty gamblers in the world, according to CNBC news agency.
In fact, the world’s most greedy gambling countries/regions include so many unbelievable candidates.
This ranking is based on research data by H2 Gambling Capital, a consulting organization based in London (UK). It has calculated the average annual gambling losses of the adult population in more than 200 countries/regions, to figure out which places are most eager to gamble.
The lost money is the money the player suffered in all forms of gambling, such as horse racing, slot machine, lottery, bingo, and casinos throughout 2010. Below is the list of top 10 gambling countries/regions in the world.
10. Spain
Gambling has been legalized in Spain since 1977 and the slot machine game is recognized in 1981. According to H2 Gambling Capital, the Spaniard enjoy betting everything from soccer to gambling to lottery.
Spain’s Christmas season lottery, titled “El Gordo”, is the only one in the world with a prize pool of over $ 1 billion. Last year, an average of 4 out of 5 Spaniards bought this lottery, regardless of its price up to 200 Euros ($ 286).
The Spaniard’s love of the lottery helped Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, the organizer of the El Gordo shoot, to earn nearly 10 billion euros (14.4 billion USD) in 2010. Due to budget deficit, The Spanish government plans to sell a 30% stake in the company, to raise € 7.5 billion in the second half of this year.
9. Greece
Lottery is one of the Greeks’ favorite bets. In 2010, lottery “Joker” has raised the amount up to 19 million Euro.
In addition to having one of the most famous card gods of all time, Greece is also home to Europe’s largest gambling company, OPAP, with a market capitalization of 4.1 billion euros. The privatization of this company, due to be completed in 2012, will help Greece settle part of its huge public debt burden.