A two-year gambling study has revealed more Australians than ever are reaching for their phone to have a bet, with the number of online gamblers doubling in the past decade.
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The Second National Study of Interactive Gambling in Australia surveyed more than 15,000 Australians and found 17.5 per cent of adults had gambled online in 2019, up from 8.1 per cent in 2010.
The study, funded by Gambling Research Australia, found that overall gambling participation decreased from 64.3 per cent in 2010, to 56.9 per cent in 2019.
Professor Nerilee Hing, from CQUniversity’s Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory said Australia’s most popular forms of online gambling were lotteries (10.1 per cent of adults), race betting (5.9 per cent) and sports betting (5.8 per cent).
“This growth in online gambling has been driven by faster internet speeds, the convenience of betting on smartphone apps, extensive advertising and inducements and new betting options like multi-bets,” Professor Hing said.
“New online activities have also been introduced, including e-sports, fantasy sports, skin gambling and loot boxes.”
The study found the average online gambler was likely to be a young male, better educated than the average Australian, in a de facto relationship and likely to gamble across multiple activities.
