Study: Twice as many Australians now gambling online

A two-year gambling study has revealed that the number of online gamblers in Australia has doubled in the past decade. The Second National Study of Interactive Gambling in Australia surveyed more than 15,000 Australians and found 17.5% of adults had gambled online in 2019, up from 8.1% in 2010. The study, funded by Gambling Research Australia, found that overall gambling participation decreased from 64.3% in 2010 to 56.9% in 2019.

Professor Nerilee Hing, from CQUniversity’s Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, said Australia’s most popular forms of online gambling were lotteries (10.1% of adults), race betting (5.9%) and sports betting (5.8%). Professor Hing attributed this growth to faster internet speeds, the convenience of betting on smartphone apps, extensive advertising and inducements, and new betting options like multi-bets. “New online activities have also been introduced, including e-sports, fantasy sports, skin gambling and loot boxes,” Professor Hing said.

The study found that the average online gambler was likely to be a young male, better educated than the average Australian, in a de facto relationship and likely to gamble across multiple activities. The Commonwealth and state/territory governments are currently implementing the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering (the National Framework). The intent of the National Framework is to bring Australian consumer protection measures up to date, to ensure they reflect best practice nationally and are consistent across jurisdictions. The National Framework consists of 10 consumer protection measures that aim to reduce gambling harm.

Overall, 9.1% of Australian adults experienced some level of harm from their own gambling and 6.0% from another person’s gambling. Online gamblers were twice as likely as land-based-only gamblers to experience harm. The study also examined the negative consequences of gambling for gamblers, their family and friends. The findings for this study will further inform online gambling policy and consumer protection measures across Australia.

Gambling Research Australia is a national gambling research partnership between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, chaired by the NSW Government. GRA funds projects of national significance and has contributed more than $1 million towards the Second National Study of Interactive Gambling in Australia. CQUniversity’s Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory is a research initiative to support understanding of games of chance, through experiment, simulation and observation.

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