A new report reveals Australia has the highest gambling losses in the world, with each adult losing a staggering $1,635 every year.
The report, ‘A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm’ by the Grattan Institute also revealed online betting has surged in recent years, “turbo-charged by a barrage of gambling advertising” directed particularly at young men.
Separate research shows school-aged children are also very vulnerable to the risk of problem gambling, no thanks to some of their favourite online pastimes.
School leaders have been urging Australia’s politicians in recent years to address the potential dangers of schoolchildren participating in ‘micro transactions’ such as ‘loot boxes’, ‘bundles’ and ‘crates’ in digital games.
A 2020 study by CQUniversity revealed that gamers who purchase these increasingly popular in-game features tend to gamble more often, and gamble larger amounts than those who don’t.
“The Grattan Institute’s report is about gambling – an activity that should be restricted to those who have reached the age of 18. However, there are plenty of important considerations in there for parents and teachers,” Alex Russell, an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the CQUniversity's Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, told The Educator.
“One element is around advertising. There is currently a lot of discussion around young people being exposed to ads, and that’s just one of the reasons why there are calls for banning gambling advertising.”
Associate Professor Russell pointed out that even if gambling ads are banned, young people are still likely to come across gambling through media like TV shows, movies, other forms of advertising.
“While gambling is meant to be restricted to those aged 18 or older, we shouldn’t assume that age-gating is always effective,” he said. “We know that quite a few people under the age of 18 gamble on commercial activities – around 21% from a 2020 study led by CQU’s Professor Nerilee Hing.”
Associate Professor Russell noted that while young people under the age of 18 are not meant to have access to these activities, they can gain access by finding venues that are willing to take a risk by allowing them in, or by setting up online betting profiles through older siblings or friends, and sometimes even via parents and guardians.
“While bouncers might check someone’s ID each time they enter a venue to play a pokie, once people have an online betting account, their ID usually isn’t checked anymore,” he said. “If young people really want to gamble, it’s possible to find a way to do it.”
Associate Professor Russell said video game developers have also learned ways to profit based on gambling models.
“For most adults, when we were young, we purchased a disc to play a video game – typically a one-off purchase – and then we could play the game for as long as we liked,” he said. “Now, video games draw on funding models that involve ongoing, uncapped purchases.”
Associate Professor Russell said loot boxes are a common version of this, where a person buys or earns the ability to open a box in a game to get some kind of reward (often called a “skin”), and in some games these skins can have actual real-world value.
“Players can buy as many loot boxes as they like over a long period of time, and many of these loot box models are essentially gambling products,” he said. “They’re not restricted to people 18 or older, and are in most of the most popular video games.”
Associate Professor Russell said video game developers now rely on these ongoing purchases as their profit model, including a small proportion of people spending way more than they can afford.
“This is very much like how a large proportion of gambling industry profit comes from a small proportion of people,” he said. “It's difficult for parents and teachers to be across all of the different gambling forms, and especially around developments in video games, which continue to develop at a fast rate.”
Associate Professor Russell said research also shows that while parents are worried about gambling, it tends to be lower down the list of things to worry about, behind alcohol, drugs and other issues.
“The main message for parents and teachers is to be aware that gambling can be accessed far more easily than many of us might realise, and it’s important to maintain open communication with young people about their experiences so we can provide advice and direction,” he said.
“We also need to enact more effective ways to minimise gambling amongst younger people, including gambling-like experiences in video games.”