The world's biggest gamblers
The article highlights the state of gambling industry in major markets. It asserts that the biggest expo in the gambling industry was being wound up in London where exhibitors advertised their latest products. Firms that have adopted new technology through online gambling had the fastest growing rate in the industry. Though Australia does appear to public as having great potential as gambling market, it’s very lucrative to industry insiders since it has the highest amount betting losses per resident. Australia allows punters to lose a $1,150 per hour which is quite higher. Even though it is very profitable, Australia has little room for expansion due to its mature market with about 23 m people in population , while the United States has a an enormous potential that is not yet tapped (The Economist, 2017).
Expansion in United States is limited by the population’s puritan tendencies, static amount one can spend per hour, online gambling and sports betting are legal in few states. Countries such as Finland and Ireland have overtaken United States after opening up their online markets , while in Singapore the range of legalized betting options have been limited leading to a fall in industry revenue. The China market is not promising after the government embarked on corruption crackdown, which was against the expected takeover of American market later in 20120. Though Japan has been experiencing profit decline due to tight laws, the work-arounds adopted by ingenious firms may lead to a bright future (The Economist, 2017).
From a personal point of view, gambling has social and economic costs. Economics costs involve the amount of money that I would lose in participating in this industry while social cost would involve the consequences of such losses to my personal life. Given the amount of betting one would lose as compared to the likelihood of winning, there is a big contention on its acceptability. This informs the need for the government to place tight regulation on the highest amount one can lose at a time.
References
The Economist, (2017) .The world’s biggest gamblers. Retrieved from: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/02/daily-chart-4
