Researchers from Central Queensland University, armed with funding resources from the Gambling Research Australia partnership, recently released the findings of the Second National Study of Interactive Gambling.
The study included over 15 000 respondents from across the country and revealed that 17.5% of respondents had placed a remote bet during the last 2 years. Another significant revelation was that this figure translated to a two-year rise of 8.1%, following a decline in the overall gambling participation rate from 64.3% in 2010 to 56.9% in 2019.
Drilling Down
In an official press release, Professor Nerilee Hing, from the Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory at Central Queensland University, explained that 10.1% of respondents had placed a remote lottery wager over the land last two years and that 5.9% had engaged in remote race betting. Other forms of sportsbetting accounted for 5.8% of bets over the same period.
Hing’s statement read,
“This growth in online gambling has been driven by 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.”
Archetypes
The survey paints a picture of the typical online punter in Australia as someone who engages in various forms of gambling and is more likely than not a young male, engaged in a relationship, with an above-average education level. It was further revealed that 9.1% of participants had experienced some form of gambling harm and 6% reported they had been harmed by another individual’s gambling.
Moving Forward
Gambling Research Australia is a collaborative effort between the federal, state, and territorial governments, who have advised that the study represents ‘the first national study to examine the negative consequences of gambling for gamblers, their family, and friends.’
The organization stated that it intends to use the findings ‘to further inform online gambling policy and consumer protection measures’ while authorities across various jurisdictions create safeguards for consumers.
In an official statement, Gambling Research Australia said,
“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 ten consumer protection measures that aim to reduce gambling harm.”
