Sad reality: some countries gamble more than they can afford

[Fiatless]

What do you think about this issue where people gamble too much in countries where the vast majority of the population isn't well off? Should governments step in and restrict casinos more perhaps?

It is a sad reality that people from economically disadvantaged countries are gambling too much. But the main reason is that they are using gambling as an alternative source of income because of the economic hardship. My country is also facing the same condition as Greece and people are gambling very high. But the truth is that people are also benefiting from gambling which is why they are still gaming.

A government that is going through financial problems will be seeking diverse means to get revenue. Therefore you would not expect the government to stop issuing licences to casinos because it is a good source of internally generated income. The government will not also want to limit people from gambling because they also need to raise funds from taxes. It is mostly rich nations like Australia that make such laws to limit gambling because they have many other sources of income to fund their budget.

However, the government needs to put viable laws in place that will regulate the operation of the gambling industry to avoid diverse abuse of the sector. These casinos should be mandated to engage in fair and true publicity and there should be diverse mechanisms put in place to checkmate gambling disorder. We all know that this government needs money in the form of license fees and taxes from casinos but there is also a need to protect the interest of gamblers in the country.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

And Greece isn't a rich country by any means. Many families are facing hardship, unemployment is high, youth emigration is rising etc... Things don't look particularly good for the economy in general.

Maybe this is the reason why several people are gambling in your country. In a country where there is no job, businesses are not thriving as it should, most especially businesses from the middle and lower class of the citizens, people in such countries tend to look for other places to turn to for income or more income to cater for their daily expenses and so on, and like we all know, in such a situation, gambling is the easiest means of making money to turn to, even though it has every thing to do with how lucky an individual is, most people always believe that luck will one day smile on them if they are consistent and don't give up.

I would say that this is just exactly the same thing currently going on in my country as well, with hardest increasing day by day due to inflation, lack of jobs and stagnating businesses, people are now turning to gambling as a way to make ends meet, and it's really unfortunate for this is not what gambling is meant for, but then, the government can not do anything or do much since they are the creators of this problems in the first place, and the casinos in question pay their taxes, so they have no choice but to allow the casinos run their business as long as they are not breaking any law in the country.

[Yatsan]

No longer the country but the gamblers themselves. There are just people who are too hopeful of the profit in gambling activities. This kind of mindset- a quick and easy way to get rich, won’t do you any good. Some people are becoming unrealistic; there are a few who made fortune out of this industry but for sure there are more people who became broke from trying to hit the jackpot. Also with people who gets to the point of borrowing money just to try their luck, which will never be advisable. Regret is an evidence that a gambler have used an amount he cannot afford losing.

[junder]

This is not the only situation in Greece. There are many other countries that are losing a lot of money in gambling. But there is no official statistics. There are many countries where gambling is not legal but gambler gambling using VPN software so the government can't restrict them. Moreover, no country's government can stop it even they try to do it. What can be done now is to increase individual awareness and take various steps by government to plan how to teach control in gambling otherwise people can just lose. There is no alternative from the position.

Efforts are needed from the government to encourage people to reduce their gambling activities little by little, because if someone has become addicted to gambling, of course this will be very bad for their financial condition and they will not be able to meet their needs. It is important for everyone to be able to control themselves in gambling so that they do not spend more of the income they have on gambling, if we continue to gamble more than we can afford then it will be impossible for us to meet the needs we need.

Well that's true however this is not a small problem and indirectly there must be serious efforts from the government to be able to overcome or at least to just minimize so that its people do not suffer too much in terms of the economy due to the impact of gambling that they do. I honestly don't know and can't suggest what to do because of course only their own government knows about what ways make sense for them to be able to apply in a country for the benefit of its people in terms of reducing the level of addiction in their society.

The biggest impact is that of course the overall economy of the community will definitely get worse and the financial turnover in the country will definitely be disrupted, the country's income will not run normally because people are more concerned with gambling than buying some goods in the market such as clothes or even other basic needs. Of course, if discussed, the impact of gambling is very broad and can have an impact on many things besides their own economy. So the bottom line for the whole problem is on the government's own policy if indeed the government feels that gambling causes many adverse effects on its society and for the community itself I hope they can do some prevention such as for example imposing very strict limits to just reduce the number of defeats.

[redsun114]

You said governments are getting a good tax with it? Then I wouldn't say that it was a waste, unless only if they are corrupt because they can pocket most of the money if not all. A casino can spend a lot of money to make their business run and getting established, so we shouldn't expect that they will heavily taught gamblers on how to play responsibly because that can only affect their income.

It's only surprising that people on Greece can gamble that much despite knowing that they are not rich. On other poorer countries, people will also play gambling thinking it will solve their issues financially which is false. So indeed that governments should make gambling more restricted but again, it may not be really possible if they are corrupted.

[erep]

If the casinos were becoming a problem to the country,  the government of that country would have banned it without hesitation.  They are reluctant to ban them because they are making money from the huge tax these casinos pay. The government did not impose gambling on anyone, so the decision to gamble is a personal choice. The least the government of the affected countries and maybe Non-governmental Organisations and private individuals can do is to sensitize their citizens on the need to gamble responsibly and help them too overcome addiction.

The government does not regulate gambling limits but only provides legalization permits for gambling, so gambling limits are set individually according to each individual's financial capabilities and they must bear the risk of loss. But after cases of high losses for 2 years, we can assume the government only wants tax income from gambling because they do not provide socialization to prevent large losses due to gambling. Don't rely on external parties or any non-governmental organizations to educate about responsible gambling but rely on your ability to gain new knowledge and learn from other people's experiences to minimize losses in gambling

[Westinhome]

It is a sad reality that people from economically disadvantaged countries are gambling too much. But the main reason is that they are using gambling as an alternative source of income because of the economic hardship. My country is also facing the same condition as Greece and people are gambling very high. But the truth is that people are also benefiting from gambling which is why they are still gaming.

A government that is going through financial problems will be seeking diverse means to get revenue. Therefore you would not expect the government to stop issuing licences to casinos because it is a good source of internally generated income. The government will not also want to limit people from gambling because they also need to raise funds from taxes. It is mostly rich nations like Australia that make such laws to limit gambling because they have many other sources of income to fund their budget.
 

The economy backward country people doing the gambling for the upliftment of their life,but their own people and family members thought.Such gambler had wasting their time in the gambling,but the fact is the gamblers rebuild their own status by participating in the gambling game.The Greece is the biggest gambling participator of the gambling sites around the world.The fact is they can easy manage to find the algorithm of the gambling sites.So the people of the Greece had a capacity to get all the big win from the gambling sites.So they top the world countries with the number of the participants to the gambling sites and Greece people also top the daily participant count in the gambling sites.

[ethereumhunter]

The gambler was the person who loss or gain money from the gambling,but the fact is the loss will impact the economy of the country.Both the loss and win will impact the country economy.So the country also had the impact by the gambling loss or win of the individual gambler.The government can influence the gambling by making the law to put tax on the gambling withdrew all the time.Some country had legalised the gambling in their country and getting taxes from their gambler.This taxes will not affect the gambler who made the big win in the gambling,this only affect the gambler who made the less win from the game or no win from all the game.

If the tax were only imposed on gamblers who made big wins, it would not be a burden on them because, with that much money, they would be able to pay the tax easily. Meanwhile, the government does not need to ask losing gamblers to pay taxes because they lost at gambling. So if some gamblers can win a lot of money, the taxes they have to pay will also increase and that will contribute to the country's economy. But we don't know what impact gambling will have on the country's economy because the government definitely has other tax sources that can be a source of tax revenue. So it shouldn't be a problem for the country, especially since there are not too many who win large amounts of money gambling.

The concept that the government should monitor adults' gambling is absurd. It's like urging them to avoid fast food because it's unhealthy. People take risks despite knowing the consequences. That's exciting, right? Gambling is fun because you could win big.

Your point regarding job creation reducing gambling addiction? Correct, but it's a bandage on a bullet wound. Gamblers gamble for thrill, hope, and rapid riches, not just unemployment. Jobs help, but they won't eliminate gambling's appeal. Human nature and our continuous desire of fast remedies are at the heart of it.

It will only be advice that gamblers may or may not follow and if gamblers still want to gamble, they can continue gambling. Yes, gambling is fun because you can win big, but people should also remember that gambling can make them lose large amounts of money and can make them go bankrupt.

If there is more job creation for the unemployed, it might be possible to reduce the number of gamblers because there will be awareness for them to start changing their gambling activities to work. By working, they can get income that can be used to meet their daily needs, and that will make them feel that they can now make money from their work. It is indeed difficult to eliminate the attraction of gambling but you have to remember that people have to determine what is good for them, especially if they can get a decent job that can make them money. They might prefer to work, which can clearly provide an income, rather than gambling, which does not guarantee that they will be able to earn an income. But it depends on each person.

[Webetcoins]

I think if I remember correctly, I read something similar about Australia a month or so ago the government was concerned that their people were losing a lot of money on online gambling platforms so they are planning to reduce that amount by restricting online gambling platforms or not allowing them to run ads and stuff just so that they can save their country from losing that much money every year in these platforms as it's causing issues for them.

However, I think those who are involved with gambling within these countries should also be considered responsible for what's happening because it's them who are gambling recklessly and losing that much money. If they gamble responsibly, the situation wouldn't get this worse and it would be under control.

[goxcraft]

The people of less developed countries gamble the most. It's spread like wildfire. From old to young, everyone is involved in gambling activity. It's true that they gamble more than they can afford. Sometimes they would sell their homes and land to make money for their gambling. It's a virus that doesn't have a cure. Even at my place, this is happening. People are in debt, to pay, they are taking loans and having another debt, and the cycle continues. This happens because the less developed countries don't have enough infrastructure. They lack education and moral support. The unemployment rate is also higher. The government is not able to help them economically that much. That's why people are gambling to earn quick money.

[noormcs5]

The people of less developed countries gamble the most.

Do you have numbers to prove this?

Your argument may be true in the sense that there are more people who are involved in gambling from the underdeveloped country but if you compare the money spent on gambling, then it is the developed countries who take over the underdeveloped ones.

In poor countries, there is more population, and hence more people will be gambling but all of them will be using small amounts of money on gambling and you will hardly see thousands of dollars in individual bets from these countries. In contrast to this, the population in developed countries may be less but they usually have bigger gambling portfolios.

[Negotiation]

I think if I remember correctly, I read something similar about Australia a month or so ago the government was concerned that their people were losing a lot of money on online gambling platforms so they are planning to reduce that amount by restricting online gambling platforms or not allowing them to run ads and stuff just so that they can save their country from losing that much money every year in these platforms as it's causing issues for them.

However, I think those who are involved with gambling within these countries should also be considered responsible for what's happening because it's them who are gambling recklessly and losing that much money. If they gamble responsibly, the situation wouldn't get this worse and it would be under control.

Rightly said whatever the country may be it is easy to cure everything if gambling is done responsibly and the individual can control himself. By playing it safe and building your winnings patiently you will be able to maintain control over the game. The urge to gamble can quickly turn into a compulsion that is difficult to control. Gambling addiction can have a profound effect on individuals causing significant problems in various areas of their lives. Every good gambler knows that discipline in gambling is as important as a good strategy so the responsible gambler plays according to the situation.

[Strongkored]

What do you think about this issue where people gamble too much in countries where the vast majority of the population isn't well off? Should governments step in and restrict casinos more perhaps?

Even in countries that prohibit gambling, there will still be many citizens who gamble, especially in your country where gambling is legal because it means that people will easily gamble without violating the regulations.
Is there anything the state can do? of course, there should be, for example, by also showing advertisements about the impacts that will arise if people gamble outside their limits, for example by borrowing or gambling because they intend to make money, but the awareness of gambling responsibly should emerge from the person, not because there is a prohibition or so on which usually only have a short impact but will last a long time if you come from yourself to gamble responsibly.

[alani123]

Well this thread got so many answers it's become very hard to read them and find a consensus. But I think that some key takeaways is that I still see many people in the community talking about personal responsibility. Personally, this is what I've gotten used to from the bitcoin community as a sentiment.

But times change and as of now more people in bitcointalk seem to think that some government regulations can make sense if implemented with good intentions in mind. So while people must learn on a personal level, governments also need to take some measures to restore balance if gambling becomes too big in a country.