But the Italians are not poor: at the end of 2009 the amount of money deposited in the banks exceeded €906bn, approximately €90bn more than in the previous year. Of this, more than two thirds belonged to families and to social and private institutions. In 2009, 74.3 percent of families owned the homes in which they live, and only 17.2 percent were in rented accommodation.

Spending patterns have changed to some extent. For example, there is less smoking, but more gambling.

The proportion of family expenditure on tobacco has decreased (down from 0.9 percent to 0.8 percent in 2009) and in general so has that spent on leisure and culture (down from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent): in particular, there has been a decrease in expenditure for the purchase of new technologies, CDs, DVDs, and newspapers, and an increase in expenditure for the purchase of TVs (caused by the switch to digital terrestrial), for sporting activities and on football pools, the lottery and other games with prizes.

Istat (the Italian National Institute of Statistics) is asking families whether they have used the Internet in the last 12 months to place bets, or to participate in online lotteries and gaming, and whether they have ever purchased lottery tickets online. In addition they are being asked how frequently they participate in the various forms of public gambling. The results should help to put gaming in the broader context of consumer expenditure.

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