Published: 12.06.2019, 11:14
2 min read
Apparently, Australians love to gamble. And according to a recent analysis, Australians lose more money gambling than people from any other countries around the world.
The analysis was conducted after Tim Costello from Alliance for Gambling Reform said that Australia has “40% more losses per head than the country that comes second, that’s Hong Kong.” This claim was later disputed.
The monetary losses don’t seem far off from that estimation. In 2016- 2017, Aussies lost approximately $23.7 billion when gambling. The most used form of Australian gambling is online slots (more known as online pokies in Australia).
Furthermore, the Australian Productivity Commission reported in 2010 that most adults have a higher risk of being a problem gambler than getting into a car accident. However, this speaks more volumes for road safety, rather than problem gambling, as Australia is in the top 20 countries with the least car accidents.
As to the “40% compared to Hong Kong” figure, it turned out to be inflated as well. Such gap was indeed true in 2016. However, not with Hong Kong, but Singapore. Hong Kong did take the silver in 2017. Alas for Mr. Costello though, the gap between Australia and the second place was 24.7%.
A fact is a fact – Aussies lose the most money gambling than anyone else in the world. Nevertheless, it’s also made out to be a bigger problem than it actually seems to be.
In order to combat such a high percentage, Mr. Costello suggested new regulations. This would include limitations on gambling advertising, similar to those in Italy.
