Report shows drop in gambling in the ACT

A new report into gambling in the ACT has found a significant drop over the past five years in the number of people gambling and how much money they spend on gambling.

The report from The Australian National University (ANU) Centre for Gambling Research compared gambling trends from 2009 to 2014 after interviewing more than 7,000 ACT adults.

It found the proportion of people gambling fell around 15 per cent, while gambling expenditure in the ACT fell by 19 per cent over the five years.

"The reduction is greater in the ACT than across Australia," said lead researcher Dr Tanya Davidson from the ANU Centre for Gambling Research.

"The ACT is a special place, socio-economically and demographically. People with university degrees tend to lose far less money per head than people with lower qualifications. Given we are such a highly educated city, gambling is likely to be different in Canberra than in other Australian cities."

The study also found the proportion of people playing Electronic Gaming Machines has fallen by 10 per cent, while there was a significant reduction (by two percentage points) in the proportion of people reporting at least one symptom of problem gambling.

However, the report found the prevalence of severe problem gambling was similar over the past five years and many of the social and economic harms and problems linked to gambling have not improved.

Around 1,300 people in the ACT have severe gambling problems and a further 3,400 are experiencing significant difficulties. These people are unlikely to identify as having a problem and few of them get help. As in 2009, people only received help when they had experienced severe consequences.

"Over the past five years gambling has become less common - fewer people are gambling and on average we are spending a lot less," said Professor Bryan Rodgers, Director of the ANU Centre for Gambling Research.

"But this doesn't mean that things have actually improved for Canberrans who are experiencing gambling problems."

Dr Davidson said the report for the first time looked at internet gambling in the ACT. The proportion of adults gambling using the internet was similar in Canberra as in other Australian states.

About eight per cent of Canberrans gamble using the internet, with about 24 per cent of these reporting at least some problems with their gambling.

The report also found that problem gambling rates also differ markedly across type of online activity. There are higher problem gambling rates for online sports betting and electronic gaming machines than for buying lottery tickets online.

"You can use the internet to gamble on a lot of different activities these days, it is the type of gambling you are doing online that counts," Dr Davidson said.

A copy of the report can be found at:http://sociology.cass.anu.edu.au/research/centre-gambling-research/completed-research-projects.

NB - The survey and report were funded by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission. The opinion, comments and/or analysis expressed in the document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission and cannot be taken in any way as expressions of ACT Government policy.