Public opinion surveys conducted by sociological companies commissioned by government agencies, commercial companies, and civil society institutions help to answer the questions "who?", "where?", and "how often?".
For example, the WorldAtlas website has recently published a study on the topic of the countries that gamble the most. The researchers found that almost one in four people around the world has tried gambling at least once. The reasons for getting involved in the game are different: passion for the game; enjoyment of social communication; a sense of escape from reality that the game sometimes offers. All of this contributes to the fact that people, having tried gambling once, return to it again.
However, in some countries, the level of interest of the population in spending their leisure time gambling is much higher than in most others. There are countries where the majority of the population participates in gambling.
Although cultural, historical and regulatory factors influence the way gambling is practiced in each country, it is worth noting that the largest number of gamblers is found in countries with a high degree of economic development. That is, where the overall level of well-being of the population is high.
It is not surprising that the United States ranks first in the world both in terms of gambling expenditures and the number of players in relation to the total population. Thus, about 62% of Americans surveyed said they gambled in 2023.
According to the study, the top ten countries with the highest level of involvement in gambling among the population (based on the indicator of entertainment spending) include: USA ($116.9 billion spent on gambling in 2023); China ($62.4 billion); Japan ($24.1 billion); Italy ($19 billion); Australia ($18.3 billion); UK ($18 billion); Canada ($12.4 billion); Germany ($11.2 billion); France ($10.4 billion); Spain ($8.9 billion).
As you can see, only China falls out of the picture, with its second place being due not so much to the high level of well-being of its citizens as to the size of its population.
The gambling situation in Ukraine has its own peculiarities that differ from countries with high levels of gambling expenditures, such as the United States, China or Japan. We have a much lower level of prosperity than the US and Japan and a much smaller population than China. Moreover, cultural peculiarities show that Ukrainians differ significantly from Americans, Japanese, and Chinese in their behavioural habits in terms of popular and traditional entertainment. Therefore, the interest in gambling in Ukraine is influenced by several other factors, namely:
legalisation of gambling: in 2020, Ukraine legalised gambling, which created a legal framework for regulating the market;
active development of the legal gambling market: after legalisation, the market started to grow, attracting investments and new organisers (however, the level of development is still lower than in countries with more developed economies);
Cultural aspects: the long history of gambling in the shadows has created certain cultural barriers for gambling in Ukraine - although interest in gambling is growing, many people are still cautious about it.
Although Ukraine's legal gambling market is still developing, it is still in its infancy compared to the countries with a high level of prosperity. With the development of technology and online gaming, Ukraine has the potential to grow in this area. However, this requires proper regulation and control.
It is also important to strike a balance between industry development and consumer protection to avoid negative social consequences. For this purpose, it is worth using foreign experience. That is why we are interested in global gambling research and studying its results.
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