In addition to online torrents, over a million gambling advertisements are shown on free-to-air television each year.
Is it any surprise that young people discuss betting odds the way they used to discuss player metrics, given that 85% of those aged 12 to 17 have seen a gambling advertisement on television in the last month?
Australians bet $244.3 billion in 2022–2023, making us the world's biggest gamblers. The amount of advertising is likely one of the reasons why average gambling losses have risen to nearly $2500 annually since 2019, which is more than the average household spends on electricity for a year.
We lost $31.5 billion as a nation, more than the $21 billion lost to gambling in all of Las Vegas and equal to the size of the Northern Territory GDP ($33.1 billion).
The Australia Institute's investigation reveals that many Australians begin gambling well before they reach the legal minimum age of 18, as if the harm gambling does to adults was not terrible enough.
Among those aged 12 to 17, about one in three (30%) bet, and by the time they are 18, nearly half (46%) do so. In the previous year, almost 900,000 adolescents (ages 12 to 19) engaged in gambling.
Teenagers in Australia are more likely to gamble than participate in any of the most popular team sports, which is enough to fill the MCG nine times over. Underage Australians illegally wager $18.4 million annually to gambling establishments.
The good news is that, had it heeded the counsel of its own lawmakers, the Labor administration could take action.
The findings of the Australian parliament's investigation into online gambling and gambling advertising were made public in 2023. The Murphy study, named for the late Labor MP Peta Murphy who chaired the investigation, is more commonly known than its actual title, You Win Some, You Lose More.
The Murphy study made 31 recommendations for improving gambling regulation in Australia, one of which was to outlaw all internet gambling advertising.
According to Australia Institute polling, this kind of effort is widely supported.
Three out of four Australians (76%) favor a complete ban on gambling advertisements that would be phased in over three years. Four out of five also favor prohibiting gambling advertisements on social media and the internet (81%) as well as in stadiums and on player uniforms (79%).
The report also urges the creation of an online gambling ombudsman and the appointment of a single Australian government minister to oversee online gambling.
The Commonwealth currently has little control over the businesses that have overtaken our screens with advertisements for gambling. Rather, the Northern Territory Racing Commission is Australia's de facto internet gambling authority, thanks to a deal that lowers taxes for online gaming businesses.
However, none of the Murphy review's suggestions have been implemented. Labor proposed a ban on advertising in August 2024, but it was never put up.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put the reforms on hold, claiming that they would disadvantage sports and media organizations in the run-up to the federal election.
There is enough money in the casino industry for our elected officials to get sucked into it.
According to a Reuters analysis, Australian lawmakers allegedly considered banning advertisements while also accepting $245,000 in free tickets to athletic events.
Just the prime minister received $29,000 in tickets, primarily for the Rabbitohs' games and championship game. Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition, then received $21,350.
Due to their millions of dollars in cut, Australia's professional sports codes encourage gambling.
It is typical for the industry to donate to politics. According to a 2021 ABC investigation, between 1998 and 2020, contributors with ties to gambling made over $80 million in political contributions.
Michelle Rowland took a $19,000 gift from Sportsbet in the lead-up to the 2022 election. A organization that represents Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, and Bet365, Responsible Wagering Australia, paid for Rowland's extravagant birthday meal in the months following her election and appointment as Communications Minister.
She was in charge of examining the prohibition on gambling advertising in her capacity as minister. She is currently the Attorney General of Australia.
In just a few years, gambling has become commonplace among young Australians, and the only people who are pleased about it are the businesses that profit from the millions of dollars that vulnerable people spend.
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