Gambling: This is why Australia has such a big gambling problem

Nowhere in the world is there as much gambling as in Australia. The “Aussis” squander billions every year in gambling, whether it’s horse racing, the roulette table or slot machines. Countless people go into debt. And the government is watching.

The Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef and the legendary Outback: these are probably the first images that come to mind when you think of Australia. What few people probably think of are flashing machines that hang in bars or pubs. But nowhere is gambling more prevalent than it is down under. The “Pokies”, as the slot machines are called there, are an integral part of Australian culture. Nowhere in the world is more gambling. And nowhere else do people lose so much at “gambling”.

The land of gamblers: Australia has a massive gambling problem

Betting and gambling have a long tradition in Australia, they are practically part of the country’s DNA. As early as the colonization period in the 18th century, guards were betting on slave or convict fistfights, cockfights, or cricket and soccer matches. Horse racing based on the English model was added later. A pastime became part of the culture.

Horse racing is still one of the most important social events in Australia today. There is hardly a main street where you won’t find a betting shop. The betting slip is as important to the “Aussis” as beer is to Germans in football.

In addition to sports betting, Australians mainly gamble on slot machines. The pokies are practically everywhere: in pubs and taverns, in so-called “clubs”, even in community centers. The Catholic Church alone generates almost 50 million dollars a year with machines for poker and other games of chance, reports the “NZZ”. Even though just under 0.3 percent of the world’s population lives in Australia, 2.5 percent of all slot machines are located on the continent – more than 180,000. Nowhere else are there more vending machines per capita. If you subtract the Japanese “Pachinko” machines, where you can’t win money but only prizes in kind, Australia even has six percent of all slot machines in the world.

And this seemingly never-ending invitation to gamble has consequences: Not only does Australia have the most slot machines per inhabitant, the Aussis lose more from gambling than any other nation in the world. An average of 1200 Australian dollars per year (768 euros) – calculated on all citizens, from babies to pensioners. They gamble 40 percent more than the second-placed nation in this ranking, Singapore, according to an analysis by the Australian government.

The situation in the state of New South Wales in the south-east of the country is particularly devastating. Here there are almost 70,000 pokies for 7.5 million inhabitants. In 2019, slot machines alone generated sales of AUD 83.2 billion (EUR 53.3 billion) in New South Wales. The slot machine gamblers lost 6.4 billion dollars (4.1 billion euros), and thus around 1024 euros per inhabitant.

Gambling primarily affects poorer sections of the population

According to a study by the Australian government, the losses in gambling primarily affect the poorer population. And this is also the most playful. In parts of the city with poor infrastructure and lower incomes, the average gambling loss is many times higher than in well-off areas.

A good example of this trend is the suburb of Fairfield, the poorest part of Sydney. The average household income here was AUD 1,222 per week in 2018. The average loss from gambling was AUD 5,668 per year – almost five times the Australian median.

A deregulated market and corrupt politics

But why does Australia gamble so much? For Pastor Reverend Tim Costello, the main problem lies in the completely deregulated market. Costello chairs the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which works to introduce government action against gambling. In an op-ed for Britain’s Guardian, he explains: “For decades, Australian politics, particularly in NSW (New South Wales editor’s note), seems to have been dominated by three major entities: the two major political parties and the gambling industry. ”

Since the early 1980s, gambling companies have dug deep into politics and deregulated the market like no other country. Costello speaks of a “shadow cabinet.” The result is almost unbelievable policies that suggest the one thing the gambling market in Australia definitely doesn’t have in mind is player protection.

So it is still possible to play in Australia with sometimes absurdly high stakes – especially at the machines in the country. According to Costello, it is possible to wager ten dollars per spin. That means players can theoretically lose up to $200 a minute.

Australia is ruining itself – and the government is watching

Although there are repeated impulses from the government to regulate gambling Down Under more, the proposals lack substance, the pastor continues. Effective measures would be relatively easy to implement. Costello’s demands are based on those of other countries, such as Germany. A limit of one dollar per game round is an important first step in keeping losses within manageable limits.

The most important measure would also be a universally usable, personalized and cashless gambling card, where players would have to set a limit from the outset that they can gamble away as much as possible. A similar system exists, for example, in Scandinavian countries, which were able to drastically reduce the number of gambling addicts through this introduction.

But politicians in Australia are opposed to these regulations, according to Costello: “Politicians still feel committed to the gaming industry and they don’t want to lose their best customers.”

It is not for nothing that some compare the gambling industry in Australia with the gun lobby “NRA” in the USA. “It’s amazing that Australia’s blind spot is gambling like America’s is guns. The rest of the world is stunned that a single industry can pull this off,” he said.

It is therefore unclear whether and when Australia will oppose gambling and its lobby. But Costello won’t stop fighting for regulation, saying: “As the ‘Whitlams’ sang, it’s time to blow up the pokies and tear them down because they’re taking food off the tables of too many people stole. Let’s rid NSW of their clutches forever by fighting for real gambling reform, no matter who wins the next election.”

Sources: The Guardians, Australian Government Study, FAZ, NZZ, SRF

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