Gamblers around the world lost a record-setting US$440 billion in 2013.
Data compiled by UK-based consultants H2 Gambling Capital show that Australians lost the most as individuals, in excess of US$1,000 per adult, while the Germans and the Dutch lost the least at about $200. Americans and Britons came in at the middle of the pack with losses per adult of around $500 and $400, respectively.
The games people play also vary by country: Australians like non-casino gaming machines, while Singaporeans favor casinos and lotteries. Finns, Danes and the Irish favor interactive gambling—online, via television or on mobile phones—over other forms.
China is rising in the ranks—it went from being the 10th-biggest gambling market to the second, with losses last year totaling the equivalent of $76 billion.
Macau does not figure in the rankings because its gambling revenue comes almost completely from tourists, largely from mainland China.
The biggest overall market is still the United States, where gamblers lost a total of $119 billion last year, but its global share has fallen from nearly one-third to one-quarter over the last decade. H2 expects China to take over as No. 1 by 2020.
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