Huge growth in sports betting to be blamed for record gambling losses in Australia

An increased saturation of sports betting advertising in Australian media has been attributed to a spike in gambling losses, with new figures showing Australians lost 17.5 billion U.S. dollars through gambling in 2015.

The Australian Gambling Statistics (AGS) have shown that Australians lost around 950 U.S. dollars per head over the course of 2014-15, with pokie machines providing the largest windfall for game operators, with losses totalling 8.85 billion U.S. dollars.

But, surprisingly, a 30-percent increase in sports gambling losses was recorded, contributing to an overall increase of 7.7 percent in gambling losses for the 2014-15 financial year.

Sports betting is considered a relatively small market for bookmakers. However, with advertisements constantly running at professional sporting events and on television, the almost exponential growth is expected to continue.

Public Health expert Charles Livingstone told Fairfax Media the growth in sports betting losses was expected due to the spike in advertising, but it was a "phenomenal" increase all the same.

"It demonstrates why we need to better regulate promotion and advertising. Otherwise we're facing big growth in gambling problems and harm from young men and women," Livingstone said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Samantha Thomas, associate professor of public health at Deakin University, said those losing the most were being harmed by addiction. She said while it's fine for companies to make a windfall, lawmakers must not shirk its responsibility to remind punters that betting is dangerous.

She said the bombardment of gambling advertising - particularly in sport - in Australia was "prolific" and having a negative effect on society.

"While not all losses equal harm, a lot of them do. It's time for governments to start to seriously consider the factors that are contributing to these growing losses and implement effective evidenced-based strategies to reduce harm," Thomas told Fairfax.

"This includes addressing the factors from industry, such as prolific advertising that may be contributing to harm."

"Clearly, 'gamble responsibly' strategies are not having an impact on reducing losses or preventing harm." Endit