Is this an isolated phenomenon or it's just where im from? I see more and more gambling commercials, tv ads, and I see more and more gambling spots all over the streets. There were casinos before but im talking about places where people take bets usually on soccer and other sports, not a classic casino with the usual casino stuff. I see they are located near high schools too. This could cause a gambling addiction epidemic among the youth, which has a hard time making money these days and feel desperate and end up gambling whatever little they make.
I claim this cannot be a simple coincidence. The rich have always gambled, but lower end classes weren't gambling that much in the past as far as I know. There weren't definitely as many gambling spots all over the place before.
I can think of at least two things that this is happening in your country. First of all, it is true that lower end classes weren't gambling so much. The reason why they gamble more now is that they became poorer. The global wealth is accumulated to little people so the poor class tries to gain their losses by gambling. It is reasonable but they will probably be poorer eventually.
And also, during Christmas holidays casinos do aggressive marketing in order to attract customers. It is the most active period of sales for them.