Greece and its die-hard gamblers
e already knew it but now it has been confirmed by research. Gambling has reached epidemic proportions among young and middle-aged men. And there are no real distinctions as regards ethnicity, class or religion. Gambling is simply a product which sells well, both in collapsing economies with extensive corruption and high crime rates, and in developed countries. Punters gamble millions of euros daily thanks to illegal agencies, unhindered by restrictive laws and deadlines. More than 30,000 firms form part of an online network with a turnover of more than 15 billion euros. And we Greeks gamble twice or even three times the amount of our British, German and French counterparts, betting on elections, world soccer championships and other major sporting events. Basically we gamble on virtually any developments in the fields of politics, culture and sports. Lovers of the game, of the intrigue, and with a fixation with making easy money, we often get completely carried away with it. In the last parliamentary elections, the turnover from agency and cafe bets was 15 million euros (up from 10 million in 2000). And the bets on the quarterfinals of the Champions League this week have reached astronomical levels. But die-hard punters will not wait to rely on sports tournaments to place their bets; they are just as likely to gamble on which song will represent Greece at the Eurovision song contest, on real estate price fluctuations, or on what day fugitive Apostolos Vavilis will return to Athens. What a social commentary that is.
