It's no secret that Australians love to gamble. From the thrill and excitement to the glitz and glamor, it should come as no surprise that more than half the population engages in some form of betting activity. In fact, this figure is expected to increase to upwards of 60% due to the ease of access and undeniable convenience of online gambling.
This seamless blend of traditional and digital realms has catapulted Australia's gambling industry to new heights, creating vast opportunities as well as challenges for individuals and society as a whole.
Whether it’s your first or hundredth time searching for AU real money casino sites, we guarantee you that you’ll find these facts as fascinating as we did!
Big Spenders
Australians appear to have taken the saying ‘you need to spend money to make money’ a little too seriously, forking out an average of $1,260 per person yearly on gambling. This figure revealed an uptake from the previous year’s expenditure, despite sports betting taking a hit, with individuals contributing $49 towards the activity in comparison to last year’s $64.
New data revealed that 32% of the Australian population would consider themselves as regular gamblers. Moreover, individuals who come from low-income households spend 10% of their disposable income on gambling, while those from high-income households spend 1%.
The lottery remains a popular pastime for a staggering 8.4 million Australians, with research showcasing that individuals who purchased lottery tickets often followed up with instant scratchies and then pokie machines. This suggests that lottery tickets may be a getaway for more addictive gambling behavior.
Esports betting proved to be an attractive activity, with a VRG survey revealing that over 65% of respondents engaged in the pastime at least once every two weeks. FIFA emerged as the most popular Esport to wager on, with 39.8% of users betting on the game. Esports gamblers also enjoyed League of Legends, COD, and CSGO. However, only 1% of users gambled on Minecraft and Dota 2.
Major Losses
Las Vegas may be more synonymous with gambling thanks to its countless depictions in major movies, but in reality, Australia is truly the king of casinos, at least when it comes to losses. According to H2 Gambling Capital, Australia has the highest amount of losses per capita in the world, with the average Aussie native losing around $1,236 to gambling every year.
Poker cost players an alarming $20 billion in losses, while the 190,000 pokie machines located in thousands of licensed clubs and pubs caused users to lose $15 billion. Additionally, players also lost a total of $3.5 billion wagering on races, while general sports bets brought about a $1.2 billion loss.
Social Costs
Despite the legal gambling age in Australia being 18, shocking revelations have exposed a growing number of adolescents engaging in the activity. This was brought to light after one out of five individuals stated that their compulsive gambling problems originated before they turned 18. Moreover, around 16% of teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17 participated in a gambling activity within the past year.
These insights are extremely concerning, as teens are two to four times more likely to develop a gambling problem than adults. This is because their brains are not yet fully developed, especially the parts required for making good decisions. As such, they are far more impulsive and less inhibited, meaning they will spend more money than they can afford to lose and make riskier bets without fully understanding the consequences.
New data shows that around 2% of the Australian population suffers from gambling issues, generating countless mental health issues as well as an unprecedented divorce rate of around 4.7% of all marriages in the country. Moreover, around 400 Australians reportedly die yearly due to gambling addictions.
While gambling can provide a boatload of opportunities, we cannot continue to ignore the concerning amount of betting damage and its impact on Australia. There needs to be a concerted effort from all stakeholders involved as the country continues to strive for a healthier and more responsible gambling culture.
