Pokies, Sports Bets and Kids: How Gambling is Harming Australians
By: Bec Harris
From pokies to sports betting, Australians are losing billions, and the consequences are devastating.
The Scale of Gambling Losses
Australia loses $32 billion each year to gambling, the highest per capita in the world. Tim Costello (Chief Advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform) explained: “The nation that comes second in gambling losses is 30% less than us. The world looks at us and asks, how did we allow this?”
Pokies account for $17 billion, sports betting $6 billion, with horse racing and greyhounds adding more. Even more shocking: “We have 20% of all the world’s pokies, but 75% are in pubs and clubs. Everywhere else, pokies are only in casinos.”
Unlike casinos, pokies are everywhere: in pubs, clubs, and even shopping areas. Australians often gamble unintentionally, with machines designed for predatory addiction.
The Impact on Families and Young People
The reach of gambling goes beyond adults. Tim highlighted a growing problem among youth: “Influencers are paid by the pokies industry to show how fun it is to feed cash into machines.”
Combined with 900 gambling ads a day on free-to-air TV, many children are absorbing adult gambling behaviours. “Eighty per cent of ten-year-olds now know the odds on AFL and NRL games,” Tim said. “The normalisation is devastating.”
What Can Be Done?
Advocacy is key. Tim outlined practical steps:
- Pokies: Lobby state politicians. Each state has jurisdiction.
- Sports betting: Contact federal representatives, especially the Communications Minister.
“Get boots on the ground. Send letters. Touch base with your politicians,” Tim urged. Western Australia sets a strong example, with no pokies in pubs or clubs and much lower gambling losses.
A Call for National Reform
Despite bipartisan support for a national gambling regulator, recommendations remain ignored. “We need to treat gambling as a health issue, not a sports issue,” Tim said. “Where there’s gambling in a family, there’s four times more domestic violence.”
Public support is overwhelming: 80% of Australians want gambling ads banned, yet action is lagging. “Politicians need to listen. The public has spoken,” Tim added.
Article supplied with thanks to Sonshine.
Feature image: Canva
