Valletta, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Gambling is becoming increasingly popular in Malta, according to the Malta Gaming Authority's recent figures.

People in Malta spent 128 million euros (about 144.58 million U.S. dollars) on gaming services in 2017, a scientific survey has found, an increase of 3 million euros over 2015.

Based on the official population statistics and interviews among 1,000 respondents, the Malta Gaming Authority survey found that in 2017, Maltese residents spent 128 million euros in total on gambling activities, mostly in games administered by the national lottery company, Maltco.

The survey's findings showed that the total spent on gaming activities now constitutes 2.6 percent of households' expenditure.

Remote gambling among Maltese residents is also on the rise, especially among the younger generations, but still constitutes a tiny fraction of what is spent on local lotteries and games.

This amounts to almost 200,000 adults who declared spending about 11.30 euros each per week on gaming activities.

But between one to two percent of those who spend money this way felt this had some negative effect on their lifestyle, the research said.

According to Malta's Responsible Gaming Foundation, which deals with the social problems relating to gaming, particularly through educational campaigns, the survey shows that fewer than 4,000 pundits are at risk of having severe gambling problems.

"Like in every other situation, if you lose control over how many hours spent gaming and if that time stops being enjoyable, then it becomes a problem," said Malta's parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri.

However, he considered the statistics positive, saying the 11.30 euros per week spent on gaming did not indicate a worrying figure.

Schembri added that as long as that amount of money people spent was kept under control, within regulatory principles, then the gaming industry should be expected to flourish in a "sustainable and healthy way."