'Alarming': One In 3 Aussie Children Gambling

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


The newest findings released by think tank the Australia Institute reveal 30 percent 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 gambling each year.


Gambling reform advocates say it's the result of a deliberate effort by the betting market to groom kids to bet from a really young age.


"There is evidence that the betting industry targets kids as young as 14 years of ages through social networks, prompting them to download gambling advertisements, and the saturation of gambling advertisements around our significant football codes is likewise enticing children to bet," Alliance for Gambling Reform primary executive Martin Thomas stated.


"It is both alarming and terrible to comprehend that the variety of teens betting under the legal age would fill the MCG 6 times over."


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


The inquiry's 2023 report found a "torrent" of advertising and simulated gambling through video games was to wager and motivating riskier behaviour.


It advised a total phase-out of all betting advertising over three years.


Despite the evaluation being all backed across parliament with no dissenting remarks, Labor has actually dragged its feet on betting reform regardless of increasing pressure to ban betting ads.


Australians currently rack up the world's greatest betting losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year.


Rates of betting have increased because 2019 and average yearly losses increased from nearly $2000 per person to about $2500, according to the Australian Institute report.


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