Casino location and gambling population
After conducting research in Scotland, which was aimed at studying the influence of the location of gambling establishments and the place of residence of large groups of people, the results were not the most optimistic. As sociologists found out, if a casino or gambling hall is located closer than 50-75 km from a populated area, then the chances that local residents will become addicted to gambling and get carried away by gambling increase more than twofold.
The size of the casino is also of great importance. If we are talking about a small gambling establishment, which does not have many different games, and it is not located in a very large settlement, then the impact on the emotions of potential gamers is much less than that of a large complex with gambling entertainment, which is located near a metropolis.
It is for these reasons that some countries have created gambling zones that are located far from populated areas. They work exclusively for certain visitors, including local residents and tourists. On the other hand, any operator strives to attract as many guests as possible to their establishment in order to receive additional profit. In this regard, in a number of countries, even peculiar frictions arise between the authorities and businesses lobbying for the promotion of gambling.
In addition, many resort areas of the world have gambling zones that are supposed to attract additional tourists. In some of them, local residents are prohibited from visiting casinos or this is severely limited. Returning to the research of Scottish scientists, we can conclude that the influence of casinos on the population depends on several factors:
- proximity to gambling establishments;
- casino sizes;
- type of settlement (large/small) near which it is permitted to play;
- income level of the local population.
At the same time, the UK government, which includes Scotland, is very concerned about the rapid development of online entertainment, which is beginning to displace traditional gambling. This has become especially noticeable after the restrictions that were introduced during the acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
