In Australia, one in three teenagers is involved in gambling: stakes are higher than sports

The Problem That Goes Silent About: Teen Gambling in Australia

According to a recent report from the Australia Institute, the situation with teen gambling in Australia is getting out of control. Every third teenager aged 12-17 is regularly involved in gambling. And among those who are already 18-19 years old, this figure rises to a frightening 46%. That is, almost half of young adults are already actively involved in the betting industry.

The key figures are shocking:

• More than 600,000 Australian minors are involved in gambling each year.
• Teenagers aged 12-17 lose $18 million annually.
• Young people aged 18-19 are already losing $213 million, an average of $698 per person.
• The total loss of all players in the country is $31.5 billion per year, while the total volume of bets is $244.3 billion.
• The average Australian adult loses $2,500 a year on gambling.
• Over the past 5 years, losses per player have increased by 30%.
• $35,000 a year is how much a regular player loses on average, which is two-thirds of the minimum wage.

An interesting and alarming fact is that children and teenagers are more often involved in betting than in sports. The number of young players (902,717 people) has already surpassed the number of those who play football (484,490) or basketball (439,773) – the two most popular sports among young people.

Comparison with the world gambling capitals is also not in favor of Australia. Thus, the total volume of bets in the country is $31.5 billion, which is 1.5 times more than in Las Vegas ($21 billion).

Public opinion is against it, but the government is silent

A majority of Australian citizens oppose free gambling advertising:

• 76% support a complete ban on gambling advertising.
• 87% are in favor of banning advertising during family TV viewing.
• 81% are in favor of banning advertising on social networks.

However, despite such massive support, the country's government decided to postpone the consideration of restrictive measures until the next elections in 2025, which caused a wave of criticism and misunderstanding from society and human rights organisations.