Australia already has the highest gambling losses globally. Now, new data show that between 2015 and 2022, the number of Australian men involved in sports betting has increased substantially. And for younger men, the rate of betting has surged more than 60%.
Author
- Ferdi Botha
Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne
The latest data from the comprehensive Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey shows that in 2015, 5.9% of all men bet on sports. By 2022, 9.3% of men did. This represents a 57.6% increase in seven years. And among men who gamble, almost a quarter bet on sports, up from 14% in 2015.
The HILDA survey follows about 17,000 people every year and collects information on various aspects of their lives. The survey asked several questions in 2015, 2018, and 2022 related to gambling - including gambling types, spending, and gambling harm.
As more men gamble on sports, spending on sports betting has also risen. In December 2022 prices, men's typical average self-reported monthly spend sports betting climbed from A$85.95 in 2015 to almost $110 in 2022.
The rising trends in sports betting are especially concerning given evidence gambling is strongly associated with undesirable consequences such as poor social , financial and psychological outcomes.
Younger people are betting more
Underlying the increase in sports betting are notable differences across age groups, shown in the figure below.
The increase in sports betting over this period occurred mainly among younger Australians. In fact, the rate of sports betting jumped by between 62% and 66% in men aged 18 to 44.
Because younger people tend to gamble more online than in venues like a casino or the pokies, aggressive online advertising on social media and the use of betting apps make sports betting easier and more accessible.
In all three survey years, the prevalence of sports betting is lower among older age groups, especially people aged 45 and older. In 2022, for example, 2.7% of Australians 65 and older reported betting on sports, whereas 14.9% of people aged 25-34 did.
Gambling harm is becoming worse
There are also worrying trends regarding gambling harm.
Gambling harm is measured using the Problem Gambling Severity Index , which is constructed from responses to nine questions about the frequency of gambling-related risks or harms over a 12-month period. Respondents' gambling behaviours are then classified as either "non-problem", "low-risk", "moderate-risk" or "high-risk".
Among those men engaged in at least some sports betting, the proportion reporting high-risk gambling problems grew from 6.3% in 2015 to 8.7% in 2022. Based on 2022 population estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics , this suggests that among male sports gamblers, just over 105,000 are high-risk gamblers - a significant minority.
And while more young men engage in sports betting, younger age groups are also increasingly likely to experience gambling harm. In 2022, almost one in five of all Australian men aged 18 to 34 reported at least some gambling harm.
What can be done?
Gambling behaviours are based on self-reported data so tend to be under-reported . The estimates reported in this article, although higher than existing estimates , are likely even higher in reality.
Living in the same household as a high-risk gambler negatively affects the health and well-being of other people in the household. The adverse effects of high-risk gambling therefore extend indirectly to many other Australians beyond the gambler.
The significant increase in sports gambling advertisements has coincided with more (especially younger) people engaging in this gambling type. Exposure to such advertising encourages earlier initiation of sports betting and more extreme betting behaviours .
Sports betting is done almost entirely online and younger people encounter advertising mostly online . This is one reason why younger groups are more at risk and why urgent intervention is required.
Initiatives to completely ban gambling advertisements have been proposed. Such measures have support from the public and from advocacy groups.
The findings reported here underscore the urgent need to protect younger Australians and in particular men, who are at greatest risk of gambling harm. To do so requires a reversal of the rising trend in sports betting. Banning sports betting advertising is one effective way this can be achieved.
Ferdi Botha is affiliated with ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.
