'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 gambling each year.


The newest findings launched by think tank the Australia Institute show 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 gambling each year.


Gambling reform supporters say it's the result of a purposeful attempt by the betting 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 media, urging them to download betting ads, and the saturation of betting ads around our significant football codes is also tempting children to bet," Alliance for Gambling Reform president Martin Thomas said.


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


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


The inquiry's 2023 report discovered a "torrent" of advertising and simulated gaming through video games was grooming children to bet and motivating riskier behaviour.


It suggested a total phase-out of all betting marketing over 3 years.


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


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


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


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