'Alarming': One In 3 Aussie Children Gambling

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


The current findings released by think tank the Australia Institute show 30 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds gamble, with the figure spiralling to almost half of 18 to 19-year-olds.


That's 600,000 teenagers betting each year.


Gambling reform advocates say it's the result of a purposeful attempt by the gaming market to groom kids to bet from an extremely young age.


"There is proof that the gaming market targets kids as young as 14 years of ages through social networks, prompting them to download betting ads, and the saturation of gambling advertisements around our significant football codes is also enticing kids to gamble," Alliance for Gambling Reform primary executive stated.


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


The alliance is getting in touch with all candidates in the upcoming federal election to commit to the recommendations made following the Murphy questions into online gaming, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.


The questions's 2023 report discovered a "gush" of marketing and simulated gambling through computer game was grooming children to wager and motivating riskier behaviour.


It suggested a total phase-out of all gambling advertising over three years.


Despite the review being unanimously backed across parliament with no dissenting remarks, Labor has dragged its feet on gambling reform despite increasing pressure to ban wagering advertisements.


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


Rates of gambling have actually increased because 2019 and typical yearly losses rose from almost $2000 per person to about $2500, according to the Australian Institute report.


The nation's overall gambling losses at $31.5 billion competitors the whole Northern Territory economy and is higher than the $21 billion lost to betting in all of Las Vegas, the report included.