Human beings have been gambling for thousands of years and it’s been one of our most beloved ways of spending our free time.
From and Ancient Romans to the Ancient Chinese, gambling has been enjoyed by countless millions, and in our modern age of online casinos and state-of-the-art resorts, it has become one of the biggest industries in the world.
Not all countries are equal, however, and some nationalities tend to like their online and land-based casinos more than others. With that in mind, these are some of the countries where casino games are the most popular.
1. The United Kingdom
The British are the kings of the modern gambling world, and are responsible for much of what the casino industry is today.
It’s estimated that Britain has the highest amount of punters in the world, with around 65% of the adult population enjoying the pastime.
Sports betting, horse racing, online casinos and lotteries are traditional British entertainment, and it has been one of their most successful industries to date.
2. Australia
The Australians inherited much of what they enjoy from the British, and this is especially prevalent in their sport industry. Cricket and rugby tend to be the most popular sports in the country, not unlike Britain, but the Australians also have a penchant for casino games.
Pokies online games tend to be the prevailing for of gambling within the country, although the only industry has seen unprecedented success in recent years, and shows no sign of growing.
3. China/Macau
Although online betting and casinos are technically banned throughout the country, state lottery and Mahjong are still played around China, and it’s believed that the total amount of revenue generated by Chinese gamblers is somewhere around $50 billion a year, and is expected to grow exponentially with each passing year.
But that’s just China alone, and Macau brings in a further $21 billion thanks to its many world-famous resorts that attract millions of people every year.
And despite the countrywide ban, online casinos are still an extremely popular choice for many Chinese people.
4. Italy
Italians only make up around 2% of the global population, but they account for almost a quarter for all of the recorded gambling in the world, which includes both land-based and online.
The Italian casino industry is believed to be wroth around 95 billion Euros in 2016, which was a growth of 21% from the previous year, proving that casinos are still very much an extremely popular pastime for the Italians, something that hasn’t changed for thousands of years.
5. Singapore
The casino industry began in earnest in Singapore around 2005, and it grew so large so quickly that the government had to enforce certain limits to keep everything in check, such as a fee that every Singapore citizen must pay if they want to indulge.
Despite this, it’s still massively popular, and is played throughout the country on a daily basis.