§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the per capita spending on gambling in other EC countries.
§ Mr. Peter LloydNo figures on net consumer expenditure on gambling—that is, amount staked less winnings—in other EC countries is held by the 679W Department. However, a report published by the European Commission in July 1992, "Gambling in the Single Market—A study of the current legal and market
Country Estimated gross turnover ECU (million) £ (million)1 Population2 (million) Turnover/ head/year £ Belgium 1,032 693 9.9 70.0 Denmark 343 230 5.1 45.1 France 9,254 6,217 56.0 111.0 Germany 9,269 6,227 61.7 100.9 Greece 996 669 10.0 66.9 Ireland 588 395 3.5 112.9 Italy 2,565 1,723 57.5 30.0 Luxembourg 78 52 0.4 130.0 Netherlands 315 212 14.8 14.3 Portugal 525 353 10.3 34.3 Spain 7,781 5,227 38.9 134.4 United Kingdom 13,111 8,808 57.2 154.0 1 £1 = 1.4886 ECU (1989 average). 2 Estimates 1989. These figures should be treated with caution for two reasons. First, the authors of the report pointed to the difficulty in obtaining reliable information on gambling turnover. Secondly, it is in the nature of gambling that, because there are winning as well as losing bets, any sum of money may be gambled several times over before it is lost. Consequently, the total amount staked is not a reliable guide to actual consumer expenditure.