Module 1 - Statistics

Module 1 - Statistics*

In 2022 to 2023, the cost of gambling harm in Australia totalled $25 billion.

The social costs of gambling included adverse impacts to:

Relationships – $6.225 billion
Health – $5.15 billion
Emotional and psychological – $4.65 billion
Financial – $3.9 billion
Work and study – $2.15 million
Other harms – $2.925 million

*Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Gambling in Australia (Sept 7 2023)

Gambling on the rise

In 2022, three in four Australians aged 18 and over reported spending money on one or more gambling products in the past 12 months.

Among those who reported they had gambled, the average number of products gambled on was two. But around 23% of respondents reported gambling on 6 or more different products.

63.8% purchased lottery or scratch tickets
38.1% gambled on horse racing
33.8% bet on sports or competitions
33.4% spent money on poker machines
29.8% participated in Keno or bingo
24.4% gambled on greyhound racing
22.4% placed a bet on casino table games
17.0% used online casino games

Gambling online has increased significantly with the use of mobile devices.

Online gambling

Online gambling has increased significantly with the use of mobile devices.

Across the whole of the Australian population, there has been an overall increase in:

Online gambling from 3.9% in 2021 to 8.2% in 2022
Betting on horses or greyhound races from 1.9% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022
Buying lottery tickets from 1.4% in 2021 to 4.2% in 2022.

Tasmanians lost approximately $180 million on poker machines*.

*Article by Bob Burton of the Guardian (Apr 26 2021)

Gambling harm encompasses everything from the loss of homes and relationships to the loss of lives through deaths by suicide associated with gambling harm.

~Rev Tim Costello

You can visit the Alliance for Gambling Reform website by clicking here.

Next training module

Module 2
What is Gambling and Gaming?