Gambling involves the act of risk taking ((Bernstein, 1996) in exchange for something of greater value (Abbott and Volberg, 2000). There were numerous studies that examined gambling expenditures across age, education, geographical area, and household and composition income. There are, however, very few studies that examine the effects of national culture on gambling expenditure. An exception is a 2003 study by Anjoul (c.f. Walker, Schellink, and Anjoul, 2007) who examined the relationship between individualism and per capita lotto gambling expenditure across 38 countries. The researcher found positive relationship between the two variables. Although only lotto game and individualism were investigated, the research did prove that culture could have a significant influence on gambling expenditure.

Given the continuing worldwide acceptance and expansion of gambling as a legal form of leisure activity, this is an area that deserved greater attention. In this exploratory study, national cultural dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance were compared with per capits gross lottery and casino gambling turnover using a structural equation model. The results would help gaming operators and public regulators to identify and estimate gambling level within a particular jurisdiction that may have its own unique cultural values.