Gambling addiction in Australia is getting out of control

In hardly any other country are so many people affected by gambling addiction as in Australia. The aim now is to fight the new ‘widespread disease’ and work on the gambling behaviour of Australians. But how precarious is the situation with problem gambling behaviour in the faraway Down Under?

The global corona pandemic has probably led to a large number of people becoming addicted to gambling, especially in Australia. It was only at the beginning of the month that we at GambleJoe reported that Australians are losing more and more money to gambling. According to the report, every inhabitant of the country gambled away the equivalent of around 775 euros last year.

Gambling addicts in Australia comparable to gun addicts in the USA

The media are already comparing the behaviour of gambling addicts in Australia with that of gun addicts in the United States. According to this, gambling is firmly rooted in people's minds Down Under and many Australians regularly indulge in various games of chance. Slot machines and horse betting are of course particularly popular here too.

Tip: Several years ago, we answered the question of how to recognise and effectively combat gambling addiction in a guide.

Australian government refuses to ban gambling advertising

As was only revealed in mid-October, the Australian government is still refusing to introduce a strict ban on gambling advertising. This is despite the fact that over 30,500 players are currently registered in the nationwide gambling register. The number of registered players has increased significantly in recent months in particular - an increase of over 4,500 people was reported in the first quarter of 2024 alone. What is also particularly alarming is the fact that almost half of the banned players are under the age of 30. According to the register, a large proportion of the banned Australians come from Victoria and New South Wales, where the metropolises of Melbourne and Sydney are located.

Just this summer, in an article published on GambleJoe, we asked ourselves how the German player blocking system OASIS works.

Conclusion

Gambling has long been part of Australia's DNA. Horse betting and slot machines in particular have enjoyed great popularity among the ‘Aussies’ for years. However, it is now the responsibility of politicians to protect the population from the dangers of gambling. The number of players with problematic or even pathological gambling behaviour has risen sharply, particularly in recent months.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/sydney-opernhaus-australien-3605032/