45% of Young Adults in Australia Participate in Weekly Gambling

New research from the Australian Institute for Family Studies and the Australian Gambling Research Centre has found that 45% of Australians aged 16-35 gamble on a weekly basis.

The study, titled Bets ‘n’ Booze, was conducted online with 1,100 participants who joined the survey through a social media advertising campaign.

Gambling Preferences and Trends

According to the findings, different gambling products are preferred by gender. Female participants tended to favor lottery, keno, and instant scratch card games, while males leaned more towards sports betting and pokies (slot machines).

The research also highlighted a strong link between gambling and alcohol consumption, with 80% of participants stating that they drink alcohol while gambling. Additionally, 14% reported that gambling led them to drink more alcohol. Many participants viewed both gambling and alcohol consumption as rites of passage, especially for those under 18.

Key Findings:

• 76% of participants gambled in the last 12 months
• 45% gamble on a weekly basis
• 76% play pokies regularly
• 75% of males bet on sports in the last 12 months
• 39% of females bet on sports in the last 12 months
• 52% of males and 75% of females gambled on scratch cards in the last 12 months
• 80% drink alcohol while gambling
• 14% drank more alcohol due to gambling
• 25% had regrets after gambling
• 20% were deemed high-risk gamblers

Underage Gambling Concerns

The study also raised concerns about underage gambling, revealing that:

• 29% reported gambling when they were minors
• 34% of under-18s play pokies
• 20% of under-18s bet on horses
• 15% of under-18s bet on sports
• 9% of under-18s bet on scratch cards

Australia’s World-Leading Gambling Losses

These statistics come shortly after a report by the Grattan Institute revealed that Australia has the highest gambling losses in the world. On average, Australians lose AU$1,635 (USD $1,105) annually, significantly more than the AU$809 (USD $547) in the United States and AU$584 (USD $394) in New Zealand.