Australia has the highest gambling rates in the world. It has hooked many of its citizens with a prevalence rate of about 80% among its adults. Basically, it is caused by iGaming rapid development.

Online gaming or iGaming advanced traditional forms of placing bets on a legal basis. Also known as interactive gambling, it is any gambling that takes place online using the internet connection through computers, mobile phones, tablets, or digital television. Here is a comparison of Australian iGaming situation on the market:

The review of the iGaming market in Australia

Even though Australia has very high adult gambling rates, the gamblers are not taxed by the government because it is considered a hobby and not a profession.

Cricket is perhaps the most renowned sport in Australia, and this is mostly because of the country’s repeated success at the level of the world cup. It results in cricket’s rank as one of the most betted upon the sport.

The largest and the most profitable are Slots or Australian pokies, also known as free slot games (some examples were found on SlotsGIG.net website that is devoted to free online pokies).  Offline machines (4%) and online spins are responsible for 56.7% of all gambling revenue in total. Other mediums include:

• sports betting at 5.2%,
• Horse racing, greyhounds and harness racing at 15.5%.
• Lottery tickets comprise an additional 14.2%
• Keno being 3.4%
• Casino table games, which online versions at 5.0%.

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, January 2017 – December 2017. Base: Australians aged 18+. n=14,422.

As a country, Australia gambled about $209 billion in 2016/2017 statistic, with Singapore following as a distant second. There is data collected for nearly three decades and published yearly by Queensland Government Statistician’s office, and it showed that when averaged, Australians stake out almost $11,000 per person.

Tech Intervention in iGaming

Computer technology is overwhelmingly crucial to our lives as each day passes. Industries apply and transform it under its needs, so does it the iGaming sphere. Recent data shows that the rate of gambling in Australia is falling, particularly the lottery and scratch ticket category, which was once the most popular method of gambling.

Norman Morris Industry communications director, Roy Morgan, said in 2018 that the ease of betting on a phone due to the proliferation of betting applications means that about 27.4% of people who bet now do so on their smartphones compared to the 5.3% in 2012.

Interactive gambling is growing exponentially to market share and product options. The online global market was valued at US$40.59 billion in 2013, which was a 4% increase from 2012. The most extensive interactive gambling product is wagering and is responsible for 53% of the market, followed by casino games at 25%, poker with 14%, and finally bingo, which reports 7%.

Australia has one of the highest levels of internet penetration and smart device use in the world. The ease of use of internet technology and online consumer culture superimposed on a culture where gambling is accepted resulted in an active internet gambling industry.

Australia is supposed to make up 5% of the global online gaming sector. There has been a noticeable increase in the online betting market, which has increased the probability of a shift between interactive and non-interactive forms.

Australian Player Profile

According to a 2007 study, 80% of Aussies participate in one type of gambling or the other each year. As of 2007, the Australian government was receiving almost $5billion in taxes and revenue from gambling establishments, and live poker constituted the largest portion at $3billion. In 2011, the figure dropped to 70% of the citizens, but the tax revenue skyrocketed to between $12.1billion and $15.8billion each year.

NSW gambling survey from September 2019 revealed that young people are most likely to participate in all forms of gambling, including various kinds of internet gaming, while the older gamblers are most likely to purchase lottery tickets. About 1 in 5 respondents reported participating in online gambling, which most often happened when they were alone (63%) and at home (85%). Buying lottery tickets retains its spot as the most used gambling method (37%), followed by electronic gaming machines at 16%.

iGaming user characteristics are very hard to define as a subset of the population. Still, there are pointers to the fact that they are a distinct group from those who only use land-based activities. They are more likely to be male, younger, have higher educational qualifications, and be full-time employed or students when sitting side by side to non-interactive gamblers. They are also more likely to bet on sports, races, and play casino games when it comes to all betting platforms and among gaming users, more than 80% of sports and race betting were carried out online.

The study also considers what feelings cause gamblers to play. In 2017 the Gambling Commission figured out these main features: 46% players want to win in general; 34% look for fun and enjoyment; 19% followed by winning a jackpot; the least 18% want to contribute to good causes. If to compare gender, the reason women gamble is to win while men participate in gambling for fun and enjoyment. Youth are more likely to gamble for fun and enjoyment than older age groups.

 Reasons for the past four-week gambling participation (n=1,793)

Legal regulations of the iGaming market

Gambling in the physical calls for little fear from the user regarding government restrictions as there are several betting platforms abundantly distributed across Australia and casinos provide a good number of table and slot machine games. iGaming users are also free to gamble on whatever website they use, where there is a myriad of games like baccarat, blackjack and video poker, etc.

While the government works on legislation to regulate international online casinos and other gaming sites, players are making the most of the leeway. Any laws do not regard them as engaging in criminal activity.

In October 2018, there was word spreading that Australian internet service providers were going to join forces with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to prohibit domains of any gambling site not in possession of an Australian betting license.

The Australian government has been going over plans to use facial recognition software to restrict non-adult users from gambling sites. The Australian Associated Press stated that the Department of Home Affairs had told a parliamentary committee that the facial scans would be compared with government database content to assist in age verification.

Gambling advertising is also prohibited from appearing on websites and computer games that children frequently use under new laws to abolish problem gambling.