Robert was admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital last year after a “really bad night” of gambling.
The western Sydney man, whose name has been changed at his request to protect his privacy, had bets that spanned German football matches, greyhound races, and the pokies. His losses were so significant that one bookmaker returned half of his lost funds from that night – close to $20,000.
Robert is among the record number of Australians that have sought help for online gambling harm in the past year. Credit: Rhett Wyman
Now in his 40s, Robert started gambling at 16 when he would sneak into pubs after school to try his luck on the pokies.
He started online gambling 15 years ago. As recently as last year, he had 20 online betting accounts. He estimates his losses have totalled “well over $200,000”, adding he “probably would’ve lost more” if he had more money at his disposal.
“I think there’s a zoning out effect where your mind isn’t thinking about anything else, all it’s thinking about is the next bet, the next chance,” he said.
“You’re blindsided to what’s happening around you, you could be losing a ridiculous amount of money, but you’re just not thinking about it.”
A record number of Australians have sought assistance for online gambling harm in the past year.
The proportion of online gamblers seeking support has surged in recent years.Credit: Digitally Altered Adobe Stock Image
Online counselling requests lodged with Gambling Help Online (GHO) – a support service jointly funded by federal, state and territory governments – rose by 67 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year, with no state or territory racking up more requests than NSW, according to figures obtained by this masthead.
The proportion of online gamblers seeking help has doubled from pre-COVID levels, while those who use pokies and casinos have fallen.
Rick Loos, who is the associate program director of Turning Point Treatment Services, a GHO operator, said most people requesting counselling were aged 20 to 34, with 70 per cent of calls for men. GHO received almost 13,000 counselling requests in 2023-24, after fielding no more than 7700 the three previous financial years.
Loos has observed a surge in help for sports betting, which overtook demand for horse and greyhound racing in the past year, amid greater public scrutiny of gambling advertisements during sports broadcasts.
“A lot of the marketing these days is really targeting that young male,” Loos said, adding that group betting promotions were a real concern.
“We get people who are stuck and find it difficult to, perhaps, pull out of a ‘bet with mates’ group. They could have even instigated the group … but because they’ve got to almost out themselves as having a problem with their mates … it’s a tough thing for someone to admit.”
Online gambling provider Sportsbet often spruiks its “Bet with Mates” group betting option in live sports broadcasts.
A Sportsbet spokesperson said it offered “several safer gambling tools”, including deposit limits, and encouraged gamblers to “support and look out for group members who wish to limit their betting activity”.
They did not answer questions about whether the Bet with Mates promotion and associated advertisements exacerbated gambling harm among customers.
Robert said gambling advertising had impacted his behaviour.
“If I see odds or something like that, then I feel like I deserve to bet as well,” he said.
“If I see other people are betting, then I feel excited to get back … it’s like a feeling in my stomach, I’ll start getting an adrenaline rush from it, and then well I’ve just got to do it.”
One-fifth of GHO’s counselling requests related to online gambling 10 years ago, but it now makes up half of their total calls.
In NSW, the proportion of gamblers who sought help for in-person gambling through the state’s GambleAware service has fallen by almost 20 percentage points since 2019, while online counselling has more than doubled.
Loos has observed a rising number of online gamblers developing addictions while working from home, where they face greater temptation away from the “containment” of the office.
There’s concern that rising exposure to online betting platforms will lead to a normalisation of gambling among Australia’s youth.
“A lot of males who end up with a gambling issue, they’ll talk about it being part of their history,” Loos said. “It’s something that their dad did, they went to the races ... now people are doing it at home. Kids will notice people on phones, they will see ads, they will see it like they do drinking.”
A parliamentary inquiry last year recommended a ban on online gambling advertisements. The federal government is yet to respond to the report formally, though is widely tipped to propose a partial ban.
A Grattan Institute report released last month found Australians lost an average of $1600 to gambling per year, more than any other country.
Gambling Help Online: https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/ or dial 1800 858 858
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