'Alarming': One In Three Aussie Children Gambling

About one in 3 Aussie kids are rolling the dice on their futures, losing more than $18 million to betting each year.


The most recent findings launched by think tank the Australia Institute reveal 30 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds gamble, with the figure spiralling to practically half of 18 to 19-year-olds.


That's 600,000 teens betting each year.


Gambling reform supporters state it's the result of a purposeful effort by the betting industry to groom children to bet from an extremely young age.


"There is evidence that the gaming market targets kids as young as 14 years of ages through social networks, advising them to download betting ads, and the saturation of betting ads around our major football codes is likewise enticing kids to gamble," Alliance for Gambling Reform president Martin Thomas said.


"It is both alarming and awful to understand that the number of teenagers betting under the legal age would fill the MCG six times over."


The alliance is calling on all candidates in the upcoming federal election to devote to the suggestions made following the Murphy questions into online gaming, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.


The inquiry's 2023 report found a "gush" of advertising and simulated betting through computer game was grooming kids to bet and encouraging riskier behaviour.


It advised a total phase-out of all gambling marketing over 3 years.


Despite the review being all backed throughout parliament with no dissenting remarks, Labor has dragged its feet on gambling reform regardless of increasing pressure to prohibit betting ads.


Australians already acquire the world's greatest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year.


Rates of gambling have increased since 2019 and typical annual losses increased from nearly $2000 per person to about $2500, according to the Australian Institute report.


The country's total gambling losses at $31.5 billion competitors the entire Northern Territory and is higher than the $21 billion lost to gambling in all of Las Vegas, the report included.