| INTERNATIONAL
GAMBLING
Governmental control
regarding gambling varies from one country to another.
Some countries downright prohibit it entirely - Denmark
and Finland fall into this category. However, most
European countries allow for gambling - but not without
tight government control. The most common restriction
imposed on casinos is that they can only operate in
designated areas like specific resorts or well populated
cities. India has a ban on gaming houses, but
surprisingly, tolerates horse race betting. Japan allows
varied kinds of betting within its borders, with an
emphasis on bicycle and horse racing and lottery. Mexico
also places an emphasis on horse betting and lottery,
with a particular interest in jai-alai. Betting pools
are extremely popular in Europe - chiefly in Denmark -
where 52% of the men bet in soccer pools monthly. 40% of
adults in England also bet regularly on soccer pools.
Even state run lotteries have made a dynamic comeback in
the eastern countries of the Soviet quarter since WWII.
The biggest contributing
European country to the worldwide gambling industry,
however, is Great Britain, who boasts more than 1,700
bingo clubs and 165,000
slot machines in casinos, pubs,
and penny arcades. In 1968, England was considered to be
a gambling paradise, with more than 1,000 casinos
legally operating nationwide (Due in part to
unintentional legislation by Parliament in 1960).
However, later that same year, the Betting and Gaming
Act was passed. It was designed to rid the country of
the majority of casinos, while heavily taxing the ones
that continued running. By 1976, there existed only 121
licensed gaming resorts, all under tight control of the
Parliament. Nowadays, England is a haven for bookmakers
who specialize in the booming dog and horse race betting
business.
Today, gambling exists in
various nations; And despite the fact that more
controversy is associated with gambling in the United
States than in any other country, the U.S. gaming
industry is the most thriving and profitable. The most
important form of commercialized gambling in the U.S. is
horse racing. To get an idea of how big it is, each year
more people attend horse races than attend professional
football, baseball and basketball events combined. A
racetrack in New York or Los Angeles attracts more than
20,000 people on a typical weekday, with close to
100,000 in attendance on a weekend. Statistics also show
that the average turnover at horseracing events is $140
per person.
Participation in other
forms of gambling is more difficult to analyze, let
alone, conclude statistical findings. However, according
to official documents published by Nevada's Gambling
Commission, at the close of fiscal year 2002, the total
winning revenues for land based casino gamblers
statewide was approximately 8.7 billion dollars. This is
a stark difference to the gambling industry 22 years
prior. In 1980, the Nevada's Gambling Commission
reported that the taxable income for all of Nevada's
casinos combined was a mere 2.3 billion (A whopping 264%
difference).
The range of people that
gamble in America is just as vast as the rise in winning
revenue. In a survey conducted by the National Policy
Toward Gambling, 61% of Americans said they took part in
some form of gambling. Of these, 44% only bet in legal
commercial games (to include bingo and lottery), 13% bet
only with a close circle of friends or sports pool and
11% bet in some illegal way or another. Geographically
speaking, 80% of Northeastern Americans gamble, as
opposed to only 40% of Southerners. Males tend to gamble
more than females; 68% for the guys, and 55% for the
ladies. 68% of Caucasians gamble, whereas 52% of non
Caucasians gamble. Catholics do the most gambling - 80%
- in comparison to 77% of Jews and 54% of Protestants.
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