Poles lose fortune on gambling

From: The News
In 2009, Poles spent twice as much money on gambling than on vodka and ten times more than on investment funds.

The money spent on gambling in 2009 reached a record sum of 20 billion zloty (5 billion euro). Last year the gambling market in Poland grew by 16 percent. However, it is still less than in 2006-2008, when Poles were spending 40 percent more on gambling a year. Recession slowed down the pace of gambling industry’s development.

In 2009, the national lottery gained 5 percent less than a year before but casinos, amusement arcades and bookmakers earned the same amount of money. One-armed bandits, on the other hand, brought huge profits. Poles spent 11.3 million zloty (2.8 million euro) on fruit machines, which is one third more than a year before. The number of machines increased by 10,000 and exceeded 56,000.

However, the times of gambling prosperity are gone. From 1 January 2010 over 26,000 one-armed bandits have been removed from gambling spots. A dramatic increase of gambling tax, which followed an anti-gambling bill made the machines less profitable.