More than €3.6bn spent on gambling in Ireland last year
Wednesday May 30 2007
The amount of money being spent on gambling in Ireland has soared over the past five years, according to research presented to a conference in Dublin yesterday.
The figures show that more than €3.6bn is known to have been spent by gamblers last year, compared to €1.6bn in 2001.
However, experts say this is only the tip of the iceberg as it does not take account of gambling via the internet or in casinos.
International estimates would suggest that around 40,000 people in Ireland have a gambling problem, but those behind the latest research say this is likely to be an underestimate given the high expenditure.
