Six per cent of Cypriots are ‘pathological gamblers’

A study presented by the Greek Cypriot national betting authority on Monday revealed that six per cent of the Greek Cypriot population are pathological gamblers while some start gambling on average at the age of 12.5.

According to the results, 75 per cent of the population over the age of 15 gambles or dabbles with it at some point in their life. This corresponds to 399,750 people out of which 13 per cent show symptoms of possible problematic behaviour.

Six per cent or just under 24,000 are described as pathological players.

This is the first time research of this kind has been carried out in Cyprus, which aimed to discover how widespread and popular games of chance are, as well as provide a better understanding of gamblers – particularly pathological ones.

Carried out by IMR Cyprus and the University of Nicosia, and presented during a press conference at the finance ministry, it also found that the average age by which people in Cyprus start playing games of chance is 12.5.

A total of 31 per cent said the first time they gambled was in front of their father, 22 per cent with a friend and 19 per cent with their mother.

Twelve per cent said they were in the presence of a sibling while five per cent said they were with their grandfather and three per cent outlined they were with another relative.

According to the study, 85 per cent of participants believe the state should be more involved in regulating games of chance.

The study was carried out nationwide between November 2017 and January 2018, with personal interviews from a random sample of 3,000 people aged 15 years-old and over.

Popular games of chance include playing cards, slot machines, scratch tickets or numbered balls drawn from a container.

Source: Cyprus Mail