World Biggest Gamblers by Country in 2016

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Friday, March 3rd, 2017 | Written by Shane Larson

Gambling is legal in many countries around the world, and its popularity is on the rise, with the global gambling industry having generated $385 billion in profits last year. So which country’s players are spending the most on gambling? A recent report from H2 Gambling Capital breaks down the biggest losers by country.

Top 15 Biggest Overall Losses by Country:

1: United States – $116.9bn
2: China – $62.4bn
3: Japan – $24.1bn
4: Italy – $19bn
5: Australia – $18.3bn
6: Britain – $18bn
7: Canada – $12.4bn
8: Germany – $11.2bn
9: France – $10.4bn
10: Spain – $8.9bn
11: South Korea – $7.4bn
12: Singapore – $5.9bn
13: Brazil – $3.1bn
14: Sweden – $2.4bn
15 The Netherlands – $2.3bn

Key Findings

The H2 Gambling Capital report on gambling examined how much countries spent gambling overall during 2016, with its figures including all forms of gambling, including lotteries. The numbers are a measure of gambling volume, so it’s not surprising that the two most populous countries in the world ranked at the top of the list. One surprising entry on the list, though, is Japan in third place. Casinos were only legalized in Japan recently, and none has opened their doors yet, leading many industry insiders to wonder what will happen when the gambling market does finally launch on the island nation. It’s possible that within a few years Japan may have narrowed the gap between its third place rank at $24.1 billion and China’s second place rank of $62.4 billion.

Top 15 Losses Per Gambler:

1: Australia ($990)
2: Singapore ($650)
3: Ireland ($500)
4: Finland ($425)
5: United States ($420)
6: New Zealand
7: Canada
8: Norway
9: Italy
10: Britain
11: Iceland
12: Cyprus
13: Sweden
14: Denmark
15: Malta (approx.$250)

Key Findings

H2 Gambling Capital also examined the average losses per capita in countries that have legalized gambling. In many ways, this is a truer estimate of how much the residents of a particular country are spending buying lottery tickets, gambling at casinos, and placing wagering on sports books.

Australia is at the head of the pack in terms of gambling losses, with the average Aussie losing around $990, but what’s interesting, though, is that Australia was the first country to loosen regulations on gambling back in the 1980s. Most gambling losses in Australia occur at poker machines, which are located all over the country, leading some analysts to conclude that the more lenient approach to gambling has resulted in over spending by consumers.

As for the runner up nation, Singapore, the majority of gambling losses were incurred whilst gambling at the nation-city’s two large integrated casino resorts. In the meantime, Irish gamblers lost the third most with the majority of their losses spent online, while Finnish player losses are split between online gambling and gaming machines located outside of land-based casinos. In the United States, however, casino gambling accounts for most of the losses, but it should be noted that sportsbooks are not included in the numbers since they are banned in most parts of the country. Still, Americans are estimated to have spent $117 billion on sports betting in 2016.

Study Raises Concerns

Needless to say, the study has raised concerns amongst politicians based in countries which appear high up on the list. One such country is Ireland, whose citizens spent an average of $500 per person in 2016, leading Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan to conclude that while alcohol and drug abuse problems are being tackled in a direct manner, problem gambling, on the other hand, is being “relatively ignored”. As Boylan subsequently explains:

“Because it is not as visible as other problems, politicians and certain sections of the media seem to think that it is not a pressing matter. However, I think it is one of the gravest issues facing Irish society.”

In the meantime, Australia is currently in the midst of an overhaul to its online gambling laws, which threatens huge fines for company or individuals flaunting the law. A number of international operators have since exited the lucrative market, including 888poker and PartyPoker, with PokerStars likely to do likewise once the new Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill comes into force. There are those that see the Aussie government’s crackdown on online gambling as an erosion of people’s right to gamble, though, with one controversial politician, Senator Leyonhjelm, for instance, advising poker players to contact Minister Tudge on the issue. If no headway is made, he has even suggested that they should get themselves “a VPN and an offshore account”.