The Australian government is facing calls to urgently move forward with gambling reform amid a surge in participation and harm over the past six years.
According to a report by the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC), over 65.1% of Australian adults gambled in the 12 months before October 2024 with 3.9% regularly participating in some form of gambling.
The most popular activities were lotteries, played by 52.7% of the population with instant scratch cards at 24.5%, poker machines at 19.8%, horse racing betting at 17.8% and sports betting at 12.5%.
The people of Australia are considered at high risk of gambling harm at 2.6%, which is a stark contrast to residents of the United Kingdom at 0.3%.
Young adults are at even higher risk according to the AGRC, with the rate of high-risk gambling sitting at 3.1% in the 18-24 age group. 17.8% of regular gamblers aged 18-24 were deemed as high risk.
In June, the Australian Communications and Media Authority warned that social media influencers could face fines of up to AU$2.5 million for promoting unregulated gambling sites.
The AGRC reported that AU$32 billion is lost annually by Australians through regulated gambling operators, which is the largest per capita loss of any country on the planet and it is putting severe pressure on PM Anthony Albanese’s Labor government to take action.
Gambling reform in Australia has been a hot topic across the last few years and there was a parliamentary inquiry into its impacts on society back in 2022 which led to a number of recommendations.
Titled the Murphy report after the late MP Peta Murphy, it contained 31 recommendations for the regulatory future of gambling in Australia including gambling-harm reduction regulations, a harm reduction levy and an ombudsman.
Gambling advertisement and sponsorship was greatly recommended to be reformed. In August, Australian gambling operator Sportsbet scrapped its TV ads which encouraged viewers to bet in multiples following severe backlash.
Later that month, BlueBet was fined for letting a man gamble away AU$570,000 without considering his wellbeing.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
