Gambling in Sardinia: nearly €1,700 spent per capita annually

Gambling fever is also hitting Sardinia, which has higher gambling rates than the national average.

This is what emerges from a study by Unsic based on Federconsumatori data , referring to 2024, which highlights how on the island the average per capita amount of bets for the entire resident population was 1,678 euros for gambling in physical locations (compared to 1,563 euros on a national average), while the index of active online accounts is 0.38 compared to the national average of 0.34.

On the island, there are approximately 45,000 compulsive gamblers (out of a population of 1.5 million residents), at a social cost of approximately 60 million euros.

Furthermore, the study notes, again citing data from Federconsumatori, «as regards the small municipalities that record at least double the national average , Pozzomaggiore (SS), Castelsardo (SS) and Arborea (OR) lead the way».

At the national level, in 2025 Italians "invested" a total of approximately 170 billion euros in gambling as a whole, 7.2% of the national GDP.

The amount, which has been steadily growing for years (excluding 2020, due to the pandemic that wiped out the contribution of physical theaters), exceeds national spending on healthcare and education.

Online gambling accounts for the lion's share, with approximately €100 billion, led by sports betting and general betting (betting exchanges, the betting exchange), followed by card games and casinos. Less significant—approximately €70 billion (of which an average of 75% goes directly to users)—is the role of physical gambling venues, such as bars and tobacconists, where more than half of the "players" use scratch cards, followed by sports betting and the lottery.

The data were released at the presentation of the book "Skin Player" by Massimo Persia, a doctor specializing in addictions and for two decades head of the Tivoli-Guidonia addiction treatment center, one of the largest facilities in Italy. The book, in addition to addressing gambling addiction from a psychoclinical perspective, delving into neurobiological mechanisms, focuses specifically on the video game market, many of which are highly harmful and involve money transactions.

The UNSIC analysis highlights not only how Southern Italy—led by Campania, Sicily, and Calabria—is the area where the most money is spent on gambling, but also how many tourist destinations in Northern Italy—the area around Lake Garda and Lake Como and the Ligurian coast—have become veritable "oases" for gamblers.

"It's not easy to distinguish the fine line between gaming as pure entertainment and pathology," explains Dr. Massimo Persia. He adds: "It's estimated that in Italy there are approximately 1.5 million pathological gamblers, with a significant increase among young people. This confirms the importance of listening to adolescents rather than judging them. And of promoting educational, rehabilitative, and formative games over predominantly violent or sexually oriented ones."

(Unioneonline/lf)