How Do GamingTraditions Differ Around The World?

In some corners of the world, gambling consists of mainly sports betting; whereas in other countries, it consists of the lottery and bingo. However, when online gambling emerged in the late 1990s, it changed the landscape of the activity and created brand new opportunities for all consumers. While some countries are more accepting of gambling and offer a variety of new options – just look at the amount of tourism in Las Vegas – and some cultures base their gambling interests largely on favourite sporting teams and traditions, they overall prove that gambling is one of the most popular past times, but certain countries have unique ways to gamble.

Spain

The lottery is famous throughout the world, but no country loves this form of gambling more than the Spanish, and there is one time of the year, which stands out above the rest. The ‘El Gordo’ or ‘the fat one’ as it translates, is the most significant lottery in the world and has been a factor in every Spaniard’s Christmas for the past 204 years.

The idea came from the government as a way to ensure that everybody had a chance of claiming a well earned Christmas bonus, and the design of El Gordo reflects on the country’s unwavering generosity. This is because family and friends often share tickets, meaning that if one of them wins, all of them win. The popularity of this lottery draw remains with houses crowded around the television on the 22nd December awaiting the results and hoping that they are holding the lucky winning ticket that could see them win four million Euros.

Ireland

While sports betting on events such as horse racing remain the most popular event to gamble on in Ireland, they do also have a deep love for all things bingo. That has been helped in the modern day with the evolution of technology to enable online gambling companies to expand. Because of this, there are numerous new bingo sites available to punters. The credit for the original rise of the game in the country goes to the Catholic Church Bingo which was played in the early 1960s. This kick-started the popularity of the game and enabled it to explode in popularity throughout the entire country. Shortly after this, bingo halls were opened in all corners of Ireland.

Commonly in most countries, the introduction of online bingo has had a detrimental effect on land-based halls; however, the same can’t be said in Ireland. The convenience of having bingo available via land-based and online has caused both to flourish, and that just highlights the love that the Irish have for bingo. With the increased use of virtual reality in bingo, the game will likely continue to be played and enjoyed for many years to come.

Norway

While countries such as China and the USA love poker and that is shown in the revenues from tourists in Macao and Las Vegas, it is another country that has the youngest interest in the game. Norway has developed a reputation over the past number of years for producing some of the best poker players. This was highlighted by 19-year-old Annette Obrestad becoming the youngest ever player to win the World Series in 2007.

The government retains the oversight in the gambling sector much like the rest of Scandinavia, and Poker has slowly evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in Norway. The best ways to do this in the Scandinavian country are by visiting the state-operated venues at Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. The latter of which is also the best place for sports betting, however, you should check out this resource for alternative methods of betting as each way betting on horse races isn’t a bet you can place in Scandinavia.