69 billion zlotys spent in a year on gambling and just under 43 billion in turnover by individual investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. These figures were compared by the popular creator Bunkier Inwestora, showing the scale of financial choices made by Poles. His conclusion is simple and uncomfortable: gambling in Poland seems more attractive than the stock market.
A better short-term illusion or long-term opportunities? Poles probably prefer the former.
Is gambling in Poland more popular than investing?
Numbers sometimes speak louder than the most elaborate analyses. Especially when they brutally show what financial decisions we make as a society. Such a comparison was published by one of the popular investment creators, sparking a discussion about whether gambling in Poland unexpectedly wins over long-term investing.
The Investor's Bunker pointed out the data that is hard to ignore in his entry. According to available statistics, in 2024, Poles allocated a total of approximately 69 billion PLN for Totalizator games – lotto, scratch cards, and casinos. Importantly, online casinos alone generated a turnover of over 50 billion PLN.
In comparison, the turnover of individual investors on the Stock Exchange in the same year amounted to approximately 43.1 billion PLN. Moreover, retail investors accounted for only about 13% of total stock exchange turnover. The juxtaposition of these numbers leads to the conclusion that gambling in Poland is currently much 'more liquid' than the capital market available to the average citizen.
The Investor's Bunker emphasizes that the most painful comparison is between spending on gambling and long-term saving. Annually, Poles spend almost twice as much on games of chance as they save in Employee Capital Plans over 5-6 years. In other words – we are more willing to finance dreams of a one-time win than to systematically build financial security.
The author draws attention to the paradox of risk perception. For many people, the stock exchange still seems like a 'casino,' while real casinos, scratch cards, or lotteries do not evoke similar concerns. Meanwhile, from the perspective of long-term statistics, the chances of losing in games of chance are almost one hundred percent. At the same time, investing – even through ETFs or bonds – offers a completely different risk profile.
Why is that?
In one of the comments under the post, a question appeared that well captures the dilemma of many Poles: why are people afraid of investing when they regularly spend money on lotto and scratch cards? The Investor's Bunker answered directly, pointing out the difference in long-term probability.
In his opinion, purchasing tickets in the long run almost guarantees a loss. He claims that investing – even in the simplest instruments, such as treasury bonds or broad ETFs – does not have to mean spectacular profits, but allows one to preserve capital and gradually increase it.
The author also emphasized that although there are multi-year periods of declines on the stock exchange, in a 10-year horizon, historical statistics work in favor of investors. The risk of systematic wealth accumulation is paradoxically much lower than the risk of a 'certain loss' in games of chance.
The conclusion drawn from this analysis is simple, though uncomfortable. Gambling in Poland is thriving, while investing remains a niche activity. And as long as this does not change, the stock exchange will lose out to the vision of 'one ticket that changes everything.'
To familiarize yourself with the latest analysis of the cryptocurrency market from BeInCrypto, click here.
