Bingo halls packed with desperate people are symptomatic of the nationwide fever for gambling. And the proportion of those people involved in gambling industry has become so large that sociologists speak of a major change in the national culture. Armenia's persisting social hardships make the industry one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. That growth has been particularly visible over the past year. Life forces us to come here,'' said another player, a man in his 70s who was not lucky that day.
Life also forces many other people to bank on a sudden windfall.
A game known as ''lotto'' and similar to bingo has come to be the most popular form of gambling. Those whose numbers listed on cards are called out in a draw can expect to win anything from a free lottery ticket to an apartment. There are now more than a dozen weekly lotto games, all of them run by private companies and broadcast live on nationwide television. Each day, the draw is organized by a different company. While competition is becoming increasingly tough, two local firms, Family Lotto and Kind Lotto, have emerged as the market leaders.