Key Points
- Figures collated by Queensland Treasury show total gambling losses were $32 billion in 2022-23.
- Gaming Reform Alliance chief executive Martin Thomas called the figures “horrible”.
- Gambling losses in Australia are the highest in the world, according to think tank Grattan Institute.
Gambling reform advocates have renewed their push for a blanket ban on ads as new data shows losses rising.
The average loss for each Australian adult reached $1,555 per year in 2022-23, up from $1,395 in 2021-22.
Martin Thomas, chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the losses, based on figures collated by the Queensland Treasury, would translate into “social harm on an industrial scale”.
“These latest horrific loss figures highlight the importance of the federal government adopting the Murphy Report’s 31 recommendations, including a total ban on gambling advertising in broadcast and online media,” Thomas said Sunday.
The historical report on called for a complete ban on advertising, a tax on gambling companies and the creation of a national regulator, among dozens of other recommended reforms.
Although no definitive policy has been announced, federal ministers have warned of unintended consequences of a blanket ban, including the impact on media companies’ revenues.
The Albanian government has proposed a partial advertising ban, which would prohibit advertising online, during children’s programs and live sports broadcasts and for one hour on each side, as well as limits on general programming.
Figures released last week show that total gambling losses – the net amount lost when winnings are taken into account – stood at $32 billion in 2022-23.
This represents an increase from $28 billion in 2021-2022.
More than half a million Australians have a parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of online gambling heard in April.
A report released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in March
The study found three-quarters of Australians had gambled in the past 12 months, while two in five did so weekly. Of those who gambled, 46 percent were considered to be at risk of harm.
Australia leads the world in gambling losses
Gambling losses in Australia are the highest in the world, according to think tank Grattan Institute.
One in three Australians gambled regularly and the country was home to more slot machines than ATMs or mailboxes.
The report also reveals one in three Australians gamble regularly and online gambling has “increased”, particularly among young men, with industry advertising described as a “major culprit” in the normalization of gambling .
It recommended a ban on all advertisements and a series of other harm-reducing measures, including reducing the number of poker machines in each state.
Aruna Sathanapally, Executive Director of the Grattan Institute that Australia has too many poker machines.
“The types of machines you have in Australia, in other countries, are generally limited to casinos, but we have them in our suburbs.
“Our analysis has shown that we have more gaming machines in Australia than ATMs, post offices and public toilets and that these losses are really concentrated in our most deprived suburbs.”
NSW pokies bring in $262,000 per machine every year
NSW individuals lost $2.1 billion to poker machines in the third financial quarter of 2023,
That’s $250 for every adult and child in the state.
Hotels operating with the legal maximum of 30 poker machines earned an average of $65,589 per machine during the 90 days from July 1 to the end of September 2023.
Each year, this represents more than $262,000 in profit for each poker machine.
Green communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said the government was dragging the reform chain.
“Labor has turned to the bookmakers and the public expects better,” she said on Sunday.
Earlier this month, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said discussions were underway with states and territories to share a “dual responsibility” on how best to minimize gambling harm.
“Our focus is how to reduce online harm, ensure children are protected and, of course, reduce problem gambling in this country. So everything has to be driven by that.”
