Gambling participation and harm on the rise in Australia, new study reveals

“Australia is one of the only countries that has poker machines in pubs and clubs in the suburbs. In virtually every other country, if you want to play a poker machine, you have to go to a casino,” he told news.com.au. The statement said the government had also established mandatory ID checks for online bets, banning the use of credit cards for online betting and introducing tag lines for gambling advertisements. The industry contends that stronger regulation would push gamblers towards illegal gambling websites,259 which lack consumer protection measures.260 But the risk of illegal gambling is small compared with the known harm of the current environment.

• NSW stands out in having banned political donations from gambling businesses because of the potential for influence and perception of influence.167 But gambling interests in NSW still can and do donate at the federal level.
• The federal government should establish a national pre-commitment system for online gambling, and state governments should roll out state-wide pre-commitment schemes for pokies.
• That would go a long way to reducing Australians’ excessive exposure to gambling.
• Its suitability was only restored in April 2024 after cultural and governance reforms.
• More importantly, the central monitoring system in NSW is only one-way (rather than two-way, as it is in other states), and a two-way system is needed for state-wide pre-commitment.
• The time is right for federal, state, and territory governments to come together to implement a coordinated reform package.

Possession Of Unregistered Firearm In Public

The proliferation of pokies is a problem that state governments should chip away at over time, at the very least to avoid making things worse. Federal rules around lobbying and political donations are weak,180 enabling those with motivation and resources to have more say – and sway – over public policy than they should. Most venue-based consumer protections rely on individual staff to track gambling risk and know when and how to step in – a difficult task which staff have little incentive to undertake. It difficult to stop.107 And any value of these campaigns as a reminder is drowned out by the torrent of gambling advertising. The individualistic approach is promoted by the gambling industry.105 Blaming problems on a small group of ‘aberrant’ individuals absolves the industry of responsibility, and diminishes the case for stronger action by governments. In many communities in NSW, particularly poorer communities, it’s difficult to find a venue that doesn’t have pokies (Figure 1.4).

In a statement, a government spokesperson said the Albanese government had undertaken significant gambling harm reduction measures, including launching the self-exclusion register BetStop. Governments should call out the industry’s self-interest, and not be tempted to ‘buy off’ vested interests (Box 7). Gambling licences are a privilege granted by governments – they are not a right – and they do not override government responsibility to legislate in the best interests of the Australian people. NSW has a particularly big job, with a lot more gaming machines than any other state (see Figure 3.3), and the majority requiring an upgrade or retrofit to enable limit setting.

Gambling harm is broader than ‘problem gambling’

Only an eligible association can conduct charitable and non-profit games online, for profit. One of the primary objectives of the CNPG Act is to prevent individuals from obtaining a personal gain from the conduct of games such as raffles. Interactive gambling (including internet-based gambling) is regulated under both Australian and Queensland law. Interactive gambling licensing is regulated in Queensland by the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR). If you’re sick of ads for sport betting interrupting the footy – or anything else you watch on TV – you’re probably not alone.

The federal government has responsibility for online gambling but is yet to step up and really own this role. But people still cannot consistently self-exclude from all forms of gambling. Even that is likely an underestimate of losses due to inconsistent reporting by each state, with some reports placing losses as high as $16 billion. According to the study, the limit for low-risk gambling is $240 per person per year for poker machines, and $510 per year for all gambling. Those who exceeded these spending limits were found to have almost five times the risk of experiencing gambling harm.

If Australian governments are serious about preventing gambling harm, they will need to bolster their efforts and take action to both reduce the pervasiveness of gambling in Australia and make gambling safer. Gambling donations flow overwhelmingly to the major parties, who are most likely to form government.162 Clubs and hotels with pokies interests are the biggest gambling donors, followed by casinos (Figure 2.2). And gambling donations show a pattern of spiking when the ‘political heat’ rises, on pokies reform in particular (Figure 2.3 and Box 2). https://www.blackcomblodgedirect.com/blog/2025/07/16/online-blackjack-australia-real-money-or-free-at/ The gambling industry’s political power lies in its ability to influence elections.

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But estimates of their community benefits are highly inflated, and their most valuable contributions don’t rely on pokies profits. Providers should also give warning messages to customers as their limit approaches, so it doesn’t come as a shock. Australia should introduce a gambling warning label,201 so that people know when a game contains gambling-like features. This would help gamers of all ages avoid exposure to gambling if they wish, and it may be particularly helpful for parents to reduce their children’s incidental exposure to gambling. Many video games include gambling-like features that familiarise children with gambling and can be a gateway to other gambling. Loot boxes, in particular, are a common gambling-like feature in electronic games and have been linked to gambling problems (see Box 4).

The reforms also produced new oversight powers and a casino watchdog via legislation. Dr Russell also commented on the latest reforms, which he described as largely tokenistic and pushed through because the government was desperate to be seen “taking action”. He argues that the responsibility is back on the government to revamp the casino sector, given the fact demographics have shifted from young people enjoying a night out to a much older client base in recent times. He is one of the experts in the gambling sphere who is not inherently anti-gambling, describing it as another form of entertainment that the lion’s share of participants can willingly opt out of. Thomas says the decline in casinos has put state governments in an awkward position.

We also need a ‘seatbelt’ for the most dangerous gambling products, to stop catastrophic losses when people lose control. Meanwhile, online betting has surged, particularly among young men, spurred by a barrage of gambling advertising. There are various types of online games that a person may wish to conduct in Queensland. If you do not believe your proposed game fits within one of the categories below, you may wish to apply for an interactive gambling licence. The study compared low-risk gambling limits to low-risk drinking guidelines, both designed to allow people to make informed decisions about risk and the potential harms of certain behaviour.

Pre-commitment for pokies would be a small, one-off hassle – like signing up for a library card or public transport card.255 For online gamblers, who must already prove their identity to create an account,256 it should add little to the sign-up process. Industry lobbyists claim that restricting or banning gambling ads would jeopardise the financial viability of sport, or the free-to-air TV industry. But these industries have adapted to advertising bans in the past, and would do so again.