'Alarming': One In Three Aussie Children Gambling

About one in 3 Aussie kids are chancing on their futures, losing more than $18 million to gambling each year.


The most recent findings launched by think tank the Australia Institute show 30 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds gamble, with the figure spiralling to nearly 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 deliberate attempt by the gambling industry to groom kids to bet from a very young age.


"There is proof that the gaming industry targets kids as young as 14 years of ages through social media, advising them to download betting ads, and the saturation of betting ads around our significant football codes is likewise luring children to bet," Alliance for Gambling Reform president Martin Thomas said.


"It is both disconcerting and terrible to understand that the variety 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 devote to the suggestions made following the Murphy questions into online gambling, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.


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


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


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


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


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


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