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Portugal – Almost half of Portugal takes part in gambling
By Phil - 20 September 2017
According to a study released by the Portuguese General-Directorate for the Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD) almost half of the population living in Portugal take part in gaming with the highest prevalence among men (51 per cent) compared to women (45.2 per cent). However gaming amongst the younger demographic group is down considerably.
The results of the study were presented in Lisbon this week during the IV National Consumer Survey of Psychoactive Substances Amongst the General Population, Portugal 2016/17. The prevalence of players is “somewhat lower” in the younger population (15-34 years) and stands at 42.8 per cent the study found. Overall, however, gaming amongst the younger demographic saw a drop of almost 20 per cent for the total population when compared to 2012.
The study, which was first carried out in 2001 and was repeated in 2007, 2012 and 2016/2017, involved a sample of 12,000 respondents, as a sample of the general population as a whole aged 15-74, and estimated not only the prevalence of gambling but also the prevalence of alcohol consumption, tobacco, drugs and the use illicit psychoactive substances in Portugal. When it came to gambling addiction the study used the The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) a psychometric instrument widely used internationally to assess the presence of pathological gambling and which was first developed in 1987. The study found that 46.2 per cent of the population “does not present any dependency problems” when it comes to gaming.
Compared to 2012, the prevalence of players with some gaming problems and who were likely to develop into pathological gamblers rose from 0.3 per cent to 1.2 per cent and from 0.3 per cent to 0.6 per cent, respectively.
According to figures published by the regulatory body Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ) in the second quarter of the year there are currently 523,000 registered players in Portugal. According to the latest data released by the board more than 60 per cent of players are aged between the ages of 25 and 44. In the second quarter of this year, the number of new registrations was significantly lower than the previous quarter, standing at 64,400. As of June 30, players aged between 25 and 44 accounted for 61.4 per cent of all registered players, with the predominant group being aged 25 to 34 (almost 40 per cent).
