Just what do those dingoes down under get up to when they’re having a bet? If you’ve ever wanted to get the lowdown on Aussies’ gambling activities, then you’ve come to the right spot.
Aussies love a flutter, and gambling is deeply ingrained in the country’s culture. Australia is home to the highest rate of gambling in the world, with more than 80% of adults having participated in some form of gambling activity.
The number of real-money online casinos in Australia has seen a surge in popularity in recent years.
When it comes to online gambling, Australians have a wide variety of options available to them. Online casinos are particularly popular, offering players the chance to play their favorite games from the comfort of their own homes.
There are some interesting facts and figures you might not have known about gambling in Australia.
1. Aussies gamble the most money worldwide
If the numbers are anything to go by, and yes, they are, Australians are the biggest spenders on legal gambling anywhere in the world.
By last estimates, Aussies spend around $25 billion per year on gambling. If you compare this to some other things, it is around the same cost as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing or the NASA mission to Mars. Just on gambling!
2. The number of online gamblers is growing
Hello, online gambling? It’s us, Australia! Yes, the number of people gambling online in Australia is growing. In the six months to June 2021, 11% of the population, or just over 1 in 10 people admitted to gambling online in some form.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), one of the government bodies involved in presiding over online gambling in Australia, is the publisher of the in-depth research on the topic.
3. The number of licensed online casinos
Current legislation in Australia means that there are exactly zero online casinos licensed in Australia.
It’s because the government does not offer licensing to online casinos at all, the only licenses given out are to land-based casinos. That means that companies that wish to offer services to Australian players often register their online casinos in a different jurisdiction, such as Malta.
4. NSW has the highest concentration of pokies
The state that’s home to the people’s capital of Australia, Sydney, contains the highest concentration of slot machines, or pokies, in the country. Fun fact: The real capital of Australia is Canberra, which is located in the Australian Capital Territory.
Unlike Sydney, it is most definitely not a tourist destination and many tourists who have traveled through the small city describe it as “boring,” “devoid of any sort of personality,” and “a strange place to pick for the capital city of Australia.”
Australia has a huge number of pokies machines, a fifth of the world’s total, even though the population of the country makes up just 0.3% of the world’s population.
5. Playing the lottery is a favorite pastime
Playing the lottery in Australia has always been a popular activity, with people lining up at their local news agency in a bid to win big on the Powerball Lotto.
With advertising campaigns like “One Powerball and I’m outta here” still ringing through the collective memory, people join syndicates at work, school, and hobby groups.
In fact, over 40% of the population had played the lottery in 2019 and 2020, over a year. In 2021, 21% of people had played the lottery online, accounting for over half of the players of the game.
6. Post-Covid: they upped the ante
Get bored during Covid? Didn’t we all?
During Covid, there weren’t exactly any sports to bet on online, although people did try their hand at online casinos. However, post-Covid, when sports were all back on again, the betting industry picked right back up again, with a sharp increase in betting, returning to 2018 levels.
In 2018, 8% of the population reported betting online, whereas this dipped to 6% in 2019.
Following a low of 5% in 2020, it shot back up again to 8% in 2021. Plus, throughout Covid, 16% of people who were already involved in online gambling admitted to gambling more than usual.
7. In-play sports betting ban
Did you know that you can no longer place a bet on a sport currently underway? That’s right! In 2017, Australia banned in-play sports betting to the dismay of fans around the country.
Now, sports betting agencies licensed in Australia are no longer allowed to accept bets on games currently in play. This is in stark contrast to the UK, where these types of bets make up around half of sports betting revenues.
8. Younger bettors head overseas
While offshore wagering is fairly prolific, not every player uses these sites. Only 5% of the population used an offshore betting site in 2021. However, the difference between age groups in this type of access is stark.
For players aged between 18 and 34 years, 11% of people used offshore wagering sites, whereas only 2% of the population aged 35 or over did so.
Is this to do with older players being more likely to seek out Australian-based products, or is it because younger players are more likely to circumvent technology restrictions? Perhaps it is a combination of both.
There are over 95,000 poker machines in NSW, which is beaten only by Nevada, home to Las Vegas.
9. Everyone knows the ads
You can’t switch on the television in Australia, or head on social media, without seeing an advertisement for sports betting.
Pervasive advertising campaigns have ensured that 78% of the population describe seeing or hearing an ad for sports betting within the past week, and 41% say that they have been exposed to some form of sports betting advertising four times or more within the past month.
Those that have seen or heard the ads, they’re also more likely to wager.
10. That inquiry underway
There is a new inquiry into problem gambling underway in Australia. It kicked off in September 2022 and has received several submissions since then. It’s not known, at this stage, how long the inquiry will run.
As is the case with most government inquiries, it is simply ‘until the job is done.’
Author’s Bio:
Aside from having a knack for words, Editor-in-Chief Chloe Wilson also takes a deep interest in researching the industry – particularly stats that are very telling of what to expect in the near or distant future.
When she’s not keeping herself busy with content QA or intriguing facts and figures, you’ll find her playing a couple of her favorite pokies like Book of Dead and Jackpot Pinata!