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Gambling in Italy Booms Even as Economy Recovers
Italians spent $113 billion on slot machines, lotteries, casinos last year
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Italians dreaming of a short-cut to wealth turned to gambling, spending 96 billion euros ($113 billion) last year on speculative pastimes such as slot machines, lotteries and visits to casinos. That’s almost three times the amount spent a decade earlier. Disposable income fell 7 percent over the 10 years even as the country exited a record-long recession.