Reported Greek Gambling Expenditures Exceed 24 Million Euros For The Year 2006

Estimated annual gambling turnover in Greece is over 24 million Euros where 10 million come from football betting, nearly 5 - from illegal gaming activities and over 10 million from the state's 9 casinos.

   News reported by Greek Kathimerini online newspaper truly fascinate. The nation spends over 25 million Euros on gambling annually with the betting volume peak coming closer to Christmas with casinos hosting around 6,000 players daily.

"Gambling is a favorite pastime for Greeks over the holiday season but their passion for games of chance does not abate much over the rest of the year, according to figures just released. Annual turnover from both legal and illegal betting is estimated at over –8.5 billion, much of it being spent on football (–3.5 billion), chiefly on the “Pame Stoichima” games (–1.4 billion). Another –3 billion are spent at the country’s nine casinos. (Data provided in GR Drachmas)

This past year, revenue from Pame Stoichima is expected to be a colossal 80 percent higher than in 2005, mainly due to the inclusion of Greek teams. An illegal version of the game is estimated to rake in many thousands of euros, most of it going to gambling firms abroad.

No one knows exactly how much Greeks spend at online casinos. During this holiday season, around 600 people a day have been visiting betting shops in central Athens, particularly given the eight successive Joker jackpots that have amassed over –14 million. That is nothing compared to the Loutraki casino, which has been welcoming around 6,000 visitors daily over the Christmas period."

Greeks that had created the Olympic games, with the outstanding gambling experience that could be measured by almost three millenium today truly deserve the title of the the World's Most Venturesome Nation.

Stats do prove that.