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Australia – Australian gambling hits new heights

By - 11 December 2017

A surge in sports betting revenue has seen Australia’s gambling losses hit a new record high of $24bn during 2015 to 2016 with gaming machines accounting for half of the total.

‘Pokie’ losses increased by 4.2 per cent, reaching $23.6bn followed by casinos with losses of $5.2bn, racing at $2.9bn and Lotto at $1.9bn.

Sports betting increased by 13 per cent reaching $920m.

Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesman Tim Costello said: “Whilst sports betting is top of mind with the advertising deluge, the latest national figures once again confirm that the pokies are easily the biggest contributor to Australia’s tragic status as the world’s biggest gamblers. Politicians and regulators across Australia should be actively managing down annual losses to below $20bn, not standing around doing little as they continue to grow faster than the broader economy.”

A study by the Australian Gambling Research Centre recently reported that about 6.8m Australians gamble regularly, equating to about 42 per cent of the country’s adult population.

Dr. Andrew Armstrong, who led the research, said: “An average regular gambler spent an estimated $972 in a year, with card playing poker gamblers spending the most, $2,807, on poker and other gambling activities and buyers of instant scratch tickets the least $475 on tickets and other activities.”
“Regular gamblers who favoured the pokies reported spending $987 on average on this activity, those who regularly gambled on races spent $999, sports bettors $789 and casino table gamblers $1,046.”

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