This study examined how income inequality and wealth inequality impact the number of gambling machines in countries in Europe. The researchers created a new dataset using multiple sources. The dataset includes information from the Gaming Technologies Association, the Eurostat database, and the Global Wealth Reports. The data span from 2010 to 2019. A total of 20 European Union countries were included in the analysis.
The researchers found that a decrease in income inequality is related to an increase in the number of gambling machines in a country. This relationship is non-linear. The number of gambling machines increases if income increases in the lowest quintile group (i.e., the group with the lowest disposable income). But if the top quintiles (i.e., top earners) increase their share of the overall national income, the number of gambling machines per thousand of inhabitants decreases. Wealth inequality also has an impact on the number of gambling machines. Greater wealth inequality leads to a decrease in gambling machines.
