"Playing when you grow up": this is how the Italians' propensity to risk changes

“In the four-year period 2020-2023, the basic attitude of Italians towards risk was characterized by a high degree of stability and balance. In fact, if subjects who show a specific propensity for risk represent 13% of the sample, those who have a markedly prudential attitude are 29%, with a clear prevalence of those who, while not excessively fond of risk, also shun excessively conservative attitudes ”. That's what we read in fourth SWG research report, produced in collaboration with IGT, presented in Rome as part of the event organized by Formiche entitled “Giocare da grandi. The surveys of the Observatory on public gaming 2020-2023”.

“Beyond the synthetic index, however, some interesting potentially contradictory trends emerge which it will be important to follow in the coming years. The most widespread basic attitudes in the population - the research continues - are:

1. The perception of knowing how to manage risk situations, recognizing the limit not to be crossed and stopping in time (75%, stable over the
   time);
2. A general attitude of prudence in daily choices. Last year, coinciding with the highest perception of crisis related to the war in Ukraine, this attitude was more than 10 points higher. Today it drops to a minimum of four years (70%);
3. The idea that to achieve one's goals it is necessary to take risks (69%, but also in this case in decline and with the lowest value of the four-year period);
4. The will to push one's limits further and further (48%) and the awareness of having made risky choices in one's life (34%), both growing slightly.

The fluctuation observed in the 2022 survey, with a marked growth in the tendency towards prudence in daily behavior, is probably attributable to the economic situation of that period, where there was strong concern about an increase in prices in relation to the war in Ukraine.

In general - the research highlights - the picture that emerges from the data shows a generalized tendency towards prudence, which does not exclude the possibility of taking targeted risks to achieve specific objectives, with the certainty of knowing how to manage any critical situations. The reliance that Italians place on their ability to control, if on the one hand it could indicate a strong degree of awareness and maturity, on the other hand it could be a sign of an underestimation of the real dangers and therefore of a more dangerous exposure to risks" .