Slovakia's households save just 2% of income while spending €1.5 bn on gambling

Slovak households have one of the lowest savings rates in the European Union, saving only about 2 % of their disposable income in 2024‑25. Only Greece and Latvia record lower rates; the EU average is 8.1 % and the Czech Republic about 14 %.

At the same time, Slovaks spent €1.55 billion on gambling in the past year, a year‑on‑year increase of more than 7 %. This amounts to roughly €287 per person, including children. Analyst Marek Malina of the online investment platform Portu attributes the weak savings behaviour to public‑finance consolidation, high inflation, slow economic growth and a heavy tax‑and‑contribution burden that depresses net wages. He notes that online casino games now account for 36.6 % of total gambling revenue in 2025, up from 21.6 % in 2021, and warns that the growing outflow to gambling represents a dangerous financial trend for Slovak families.