Facts About Gambling

Many Australians enjoy gambling and according to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry (1999) over 80% gambled that year spending, about $11 billion.

Lotteries are the most popular form of gambling in Australia, followed by poker machines, horse and dog racing, and casinos, but poker machines account for over half the total money spent on gambling in Australia.

The most addictive form of gambling is poker machines.

There about 180,000 machines in Australia.

New South Wales has over half (95,000) of the poker machines in Australia, and one-tenth of the poker machines in the World.

There are over 300,000 Australians who have a problem with gambling and about half (150,000) live in New South Wales.

According to the Productivity report (1999) Australian Casino’s had an income of $2,200 million from gambling. Clubs and Hotels in New South Wales recorded profits of about $3.5 billion.

On average, a person with a gambling problem loses about $12,000 each year , compared with other gamblers who each lose about $600 each year.

Of every $100 invested with TAB or on a poker machine, only $87 AT BEST is returned to the gambler. In the long run people must lose.

Every gambling problem affects at least five other people including family, friends and employers.

One in four people with gambling problems say they have marriage problems because of their gambling.

Many people with gambling problems say they have lost time from work because of their gambling problem.

Gambling behaviour can be changed provided people genuinely decide they want to change and consult a trained counsellor about learning strategies to change that behaviour.

(Source: Productivity Commission Report into Australia’s Gambling Industries (1999) & Problem Gambling- Facilitator Manual, Illawarra Community Health.)

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Disclaimer - The opinions expressed in this website are not necessarily those held by the Gambling Impact Society (NSW) Inc. No responsibility will be accepted for anything that may occur as a result of anyone relying on the information and opinions contained in the website.