Young Men With No Money Are Australia’s Biggest Problem Gamblers

Judging by pop-up ads across feeds and screens, you’d think most Australian gamblers are just well-adjusted young men who love to get together with the boys for a laugh, a beer, and an occasional punt on their phones. “Fellas, I just won the trifecta at Eagle Farm, next round of Fat Yaks is on me.”

But the fact is young men as young as 18, who are often out of a job or on low incomes, are among Australia’s biggest gamblers.

An analysis by the Australian Gambling Research Centre, released today, shows around 6.8 million Australians are regular gamblers, who spend money on one or more activities in a month.

“People who have experienced problems tend to be males aged 18 to 29 who were unemployed, single, renting, and had low incomes,” AGRC lead researcher Dr Andrew Armstrong told News Corp Australia.

“At least 40 percent of those who gambled regularly on the pokies, race betting, sports betting, casino table games, private betting or poker experienced gambling-related problems.”

The analysis, based on the 2015 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey found that that 7.9 per cent of Australians had experienced one or more gambling-related problems in the same year.

“Gamblers in low income families spent an average of 10 percent of their household income on gambling, compared to high income households which spent one per cent of the household budget,” Dr Armstrong said.