ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Madigan Landry and Neve Brissenden
Australians spend an eye-watering $30 billion each year on gambling.
asserted
Australians → spend → gambling
It is a challenging figure to quantify, but observing the front bar of your local pub can help to understand who, and where, that 10-figure sum comes from.
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sum → quantify → where
As the AFL and NRL finals played out, venues across the country were packed to the brim, most in attendance in varying stages of desperation for their team to score.
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team → play → desperation
While all were focused on the game, most kept one eye on their phones, hoping one or more legs on a bet had come off.
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legs → focus → bet
While winning money would seem like the obvious goal, it is increasingly no longer the only one.
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it → win → goal
Win or lose, having a bet on is increasingly part of the social life of thousands of men across the country.
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having → win → country
The ABC visited a pub in Bunbury, WA's largest regional city, during the recent finals series, where almost every table of men had a bet on.
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table → visit → bet
Roy, who was having a casual Thursday night drink with his friend, had two multi-bets on, despite not supporting either team.
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who → have → team
"[I have a bet on] for all games, regardless of who's actually playing,"he said.
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who → have → games
Across the room, sitting together at a small table, eyes darting between the 90-inch screen on the wall and the smaller one in their hands, Adam and Dylan spoke about how gambling applications on their phones had impacted their habits.
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applications → sit → habits
"I had multiple apps, but I've deleted most of them," Adam said.
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Adam → have → them
"I used to be pretty bad, but I've slowed down now.”
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I → use → ?
Dylan said inducements from his application of choice, Sportsbet, were frequent.
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inducements → say → choice
"Sportsbet loves me …
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Sportsbet → love → me
I don't get any messages aside from them," he said.
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he → get → them
I'll never learn my lesson."
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I → learn → lesson
The ABC also spoke to a table of women who were not gambling.
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who → speak → women
Tanika said that while she did not bet, it was something that surrounded her.
"A lot of my friends gamble … my brother and my dad do it as well,” she said
"
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she → say → it
I think it's just like one of those things, like the social, the footy club, everyone's doing it."
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everyone → think → it
Mateship and the multi
In January, the federal government's gambling reforms will come into effect, including an opt-out service for online betting advertising.
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reforms → come → advertising
Experts are pushing for public access to the data collected by gambling companies, in a bid to allow more targeted research and support.
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Experts → push → research
But they are also pressing the government to address the social drivers of gambling's rapid growth among young men.
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they → press → men
Vincent Mancini, a senior research fellow at The Kids Research Institute, said a growing number of young men considered betting part of their identity.
"The gambling industry has built sports gambling participation into the expression of manhood,"Dr Mancini said.
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Mancini → say → manhood,"Dr
Sports betting sits alone in this sense, with poker machines and horse or greyhound racing lacking the same cultural cachet.
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machines → sit → cachet
Dr Mancini said gambling had become so synonymous with socialising, it was no longer about the win.
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it → say → win
"When we speak to a lot of young boys, they realise that they're eventually going to lose the money," he said.
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he → speak → money
"But it's what they're getting along the way.
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they → get → way
The 12 months to March this year saw participation in online gambling surpass venue-based gambling, like poker machines or casino gaming, for the first time in Australia's history.
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participation → see → history
Again, WA provides an interesting case study, boasting both the nation's most restrictive betting laws and its second-highest rate of gambling, according to the Australian Gambling Research Centre.
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WA → provide → Centre
That is despite WA banning poker machines in 1962, limiting their use exclusively to Perth’s Crown Casino, in an attempt to curb gambling losses.
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WA → ban → losses
As other states look to introduce stricter controls on poker machines, data shows online gambling will likely undermine reforms.
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gambling → look → reforms
"In our club rooms, we've got probably seven TVs that run every game of football while we're playing and training," club secretary Ray Gannaway said.
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Gannaway → get → football
He said the club has been working with the AFL to run mental health programs for younger players across all age groups, with gambling forming a big part of those conversations.
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gambling → say → conversations
"We just aim to make sure our players are well informed about the ramifications if gambling becomes an addiction," he said.
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he → aim → ramifications
"We're well aware that the boys will team up and have a punt on special occasions.
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boys → team → occasions
"
Mr Gannaway wants gambling advertising banned, and understands why young men get addicted.
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men → want → ?
"Exposure is what gives conversation, so take the exposure away, we stop talking about it," he said.
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he → give → it
Legalised casinos took gambling from back rooms and SP bookmakers to social and commercial hubs in every major city.
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casinos → take → city
Curtin University gambling researcher Louise Francis said the industry had traded on that history to legitimise near-universal access to electronic betting.
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industry → say → betting
"We're talking, like, highly sophisticated gambling machines, highly sophisticated wagering, the multi-bets," she said.
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she → talk → machines
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
