The Determinants of Illegal Gambling in Italy: an Empirical Investigation at Provincial Level

Anna Rita Germani (Sapienza University of Rome)
Amedeo Argentiero (University of International Studies of Rome)
Alessio D'Amato (Tor Vergata University)

Abstract

In this paper, using a set of explanatory variables (enforcement variables, legal gambling, crime rate, income, education, unemployment and other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics) we aim to investigate the determinants of illegal gambling in the Italian provinces (NUTS-3 level), over the period 2015-2023, driven by the two following research questions: i) what are the main determinants of the illegal gambling market in Italy over the period, and ii) whether there is a substitutive rather than a complementary relationship between legal and illegal gambling activity. Italy represents a compelling case study because of the strong presence of organized crime systems (Scarpinato, 2008) in the illegal markets. Although previous studies on the dynamics of gambling exist, no other study, as far as we know, has evaluated the socio-economic-demographic correlates of illegal gambling patterns in Italy. The results of this study might have important implications in order to develop sound policies related to gambling in the country

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