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Gambling in Australia: Statistics & Trends (2026)
Australia is, per head of population, the heaviest-losing gambling nation on earth. In 2022–23 Australians lost a record A$31.5 billion — the highest in two decades — on total turnover of about A$244 billion, according to the Queensland Government Statistician's Office (QGSO), which has compiled the official Australian Gambling Statistics series for every state and territory since 1984 (the figures above come from its 39th edition, covering 1997–98 to 2022–23). The Grattan Institute calculates that works out to roughly A$1,635 lost per adult per year — far ahead of the United States (~A$809) and New Zealand (~A$584).
This page is a full statistical profile of Australian gambling: how much is lost and on what, the dominance of pokies (electronic gaming machines), why New South Wales sits at the centre of it, participation and demographics, the surge in online sports betting among young men, problem-gambling harm, the major operators (Tabcorp, Sportsbet) and documented harm stories including the Crown and Star money-laundering penalties. Primary sources are the QGSO, the Grattan Institute, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the Australian Institute of Family Studies / Australian Gambling Research Centre (AIFS/AGRC) and AUSTRAC. Every figure is dated to its source year.
Key takeaways
- A$31.5 billion — total gambling losses in 2022–23, the highest in two decades, up from A$24.1 billion in 2019–20 (QGSO, Australian Gambling Statistics 39th edition).
- A$1,635 per adult — the highest per-capita gambling loss in the world, versus ~A$809 in the US and ~A$584 in New Zealand (Grattan Institute, 2024).
- Pokies dominate: electronic gaming machines accounted for A$15.8 billion — half of all losses — followed by wagering (racing + sports) ~A$9 billion, casinos ~A$3.6 billion and lotteries ~A$3.1 billion (QGSO, 2022–23).
- NSW is the epicentre: it has roughly 13.3 gaming machines per 1,000 adults against a national average of 8.3, and more pokies than every other state and territory combined (AIHW/NSW data, 2022–23).
- ~73% of adults gambled in the past 12 months and almost two in five (38%) gambled at least weekly (AIFS/AGRC, 2022). Lotteries are the most-played product (64%), then race betting (39%), sports betting (34%) and pokies (33%).
- Australia holds about 3% of the world's pub-and-club poker machines while having only ~0.3% of the global population (AIHW).
- ~1.1 million Australians are estimated to experience problems from their gambling, and almost half of those who gambled (46%) are classified as at risk of, or already experiencing, harm (AIHW).
- Men are far more exposed: 53% of men who gambled are at-risk of harm versus 38% of women, and at-risk rates peak among 18–34-year-olds (71% of young men, 56% of young women) (AIHW, 2022).
- Online wagering is booming: Australia's online gambling market grew ~17% year-on-year to over A$12.5 billion in 2024, with Sportsbet (Flutter) and Tabcorp the two largest operators.
- Crown Resorts paid ~A$450 million in 2023 and Star Entertainment faced a proposed ~A$400 million AUSTRAC penalty in 2025 over anti-money-laundering failures — the largest gambling-sector fines in Australian history.
"Pokies": the Australian term for electronic gaming machines (EGMs) — slot/poker machines found in pubs, registered clubs (RSLs) and casinos. Australia is unusual in allowing pokies in ordinary neighbourhood venues, not just casinos, which is the single biggest reason its per-capita losses lead the world. Net losses / expenditure means the amount players actually lost (money staked minus winnings returned) — the standard measure used by the QGSO.
How much do Australians lose to gambling each year?
In 2022–23, Australians lost a record A$31.5 billion — the highest total in two decades — on gambling turnover (total amount staked) of roughly A$244 billion, according to the QGSO's Australian Gambling Statistics, 39th edition. That equates to about A$1,527 per adult by the QGSO's own measure, up from A$1,461 (in real terms) the year before.
The Grattan Institute, in its September 2024 report A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm, puts the figure even higher at A$1,635 per adult per year — the highest of any country on earth. By Grattan's comparison, the average American loses about A$809 and the average New Zealander about A$584, meaning Australians lose roughly twice as much per head as Americans and nearly three times as much as their nearest neighbour.
Fun Fact: Australia is home to about 3% of the world's pub-and-club poker machines despite having only around 0.3% of the world's population (AIHW). It is one of the very few countries that lets pokies sit in ordinary pubs and clubs rather than confining them to casinos — the structural reason it tops the global loss table.
What do Australians lose their money on?
Gambling losses in Australia are overwhelmingly concentrated in pokies. Of the A$31.5 billion lost in 2022–23, gaming machines alone took A$15.8 billion — half the national total. Wagering (racing and sports betting combined) accounted for about A$9 billion, casinos about A$3.6 billion, and lotteries about A$3.1 billion (QGSO; figures reported via FocusGN's summary of the 39th-edition data).
2022–23 Australian gambling losses by product (share of A$31.5B)
- Pokies (gaming machines) — A$15.8B (50%)
- Wagering (racing + sports) — ~A$9.0B (29%)
- Casinos — ~A$3.6B (11%)
- Lotteries & keno — ~A$3.1B (10%)
The fastest-growing slice is gaming: losses on machines and casinos jumped 19.6% from A$19.3 billion in 2021–22 to A$23 billion in 2022–23, while wagering losses rose a more modest 1.2% (from A$8.9 billion to A$9 billion). But sports betting is where participation and concern are growing fastest, driven by saturation online advertising.
2022–23 losses by product (A$ billions)
Source: QGSO, 2022–23. Pokies alone account for roughly half of all Australian gambling losses.
Why do pokies dominate — and why is NSW the epicentre?
Australia's pokies dominance is a product of geography and licensing. Unlike most countries, Australia permits gaming machines in ordinary pubs and registered clubs, so a person never has to enter a casino to lose money on a machine. There are well over 150,000 pokies nationwide.
New South Wales is the heart of it. The state has roughly 13.3 gaming machines per 1,000 adults versus a national average of about 8.3, and it operates more pokies than every other state and territory combined — about 87,000 machines outside its casinos as of mid-2023 (AIHW / NSW Liquor & Gaming data). NSW pokie losses run into the billions each quarter; the state's per-adult spend is consistently the highest in the country.
Gaming machines per 1,000 adults, 2022–23. NSW has by far the densest concentration of pokies in the country. Source: AIHW / NSW Liquor & Gaming.
Side Note — clubs and government revenue: Pokies are woven into the funding of community clubs and state budgets. State and territory governments collect billions in gambling taxes each year, and registered clubs rely on machine revenue to subsidise meals, sport and facilities — one reason reform (mandatory loss limits, machine reductions) has repeatedly stalled despite the harm data.
How have Australian gambling losses changed over time?
Losses dipped sharply during COVID-19 lockdowns, when pubs, clubs and casinos closed, then rebounded to record highs. Total real expenditure fell from A$29.5 billion in 2018–19 to A$24.1 billion in 2019–20, and has risen every year since — reaching the A$31.5 billion record in 2022–23 (QGSO).
Total Australian gambling losses by year (A$ billions, real terms — QGSO)
Source: QGSO Australian Gambling Statistics, 39th edition. Losses fell with COVID venue closures in 2019–20, then set a 20-year record in 2022–23.
- 2018–19 Total real losses A$29.5 billion; pokies already dominant.
- 2019–20 COVID closures drop losses to A$24.1 billion — the lowest in years.
- 2021–22 Recovery underway; per-adult loss A$1,461 (real terms).
- 2022–23 Record A$31.5 billion; gaming losses jump 19.6% year-on-year; per-adult loss ~A$1,527 (QGSO).
- 2023 Crown Resorts pays ~A$450 million AUSTRAC penalty; the Murphy Inquiry recommends a phased ban on gambling advertising.
- 2024 Grattan Institute's A better bet confirms Australia's world-leading A$1,635 per-adult loss and calls for ad bans and mandatory loss limits.
- 2025 AUSTRAC pursues a proposed ~A$400 million penalty against Star Entertainment in the Federal Court.
How many Australians gamble, and how often?
Gambling is mainstream. In the Australian Gambling Research Centre's 2022 national survey, about 73% of adults gambled at least once in the previous 12 months, and almost two in five (38%) gambled at least weekly (AIFS/AGRC). The most-played products, by participation:
Gambling participation by product, 2022 (% of adults who took part in past year)
Source: AIFS/Australian Gambling Research Centre national survey, July 2022 (n=1,765). Lotteries draw the most participants; pokies do the most financial damage.
The contrast between participation and harm is the key story: lotteries draw the most participants but cause relatively little harm, while pokies and online betting are played by fewer people yet account for the bulk of losses and harm. Among those who gambled in 2022, the median number of products played was two, but about 23% reported gambling on six or more different products.
Is Australian gambling moving online?
Yes — rapidly, and almost entirely in wagering. Australia bans online "in-play" sports betting and online pokies/casino games under the Interactive Gambling Act, so the online boom is concentrated in pre-match sports and race betting plus lotteries. Australia's online gambling market grew about 17% year-on-year to over A$12.5 billion in 2024, with online making up roughly 80% of the wagering segment's revenue.
Online betting is the channel of greatest concern because of its accessibility and the intensity of harm among regular users. In the AGRC's 2022 study of people who bet online on sports/races at least fortnightly, about two in three (68.4%) were classified as at risk of gambling harm — rising to 81.9% among 18–34-year-olds.
The young-men problem: Regular online sports/race betting in Australia is dominated by young men, and it carries the steepest harm rates of any product. With around 82% of regular online bettors aged 18–34 classified as at-risk, researchers and the 2023 Murphy parliamentary inquiry have framed online wagering — and its saturation advertising — as a public-health concern, prompting calls for a phased advertising ban.
Who gambles most — by age, gender and income?
Do men gamble more than women?
Men gamble more and are harmed more. In 2022, 80.5% of men gambled in the past year versus 66.2% of women (AIHW). Among those who gambled, men were far more likely to be at risk of harm: 53% of men who gambled were classified as at-risk, against 38% of women. The skew is even more pronounced in problem gambling specifically, where the large majority of those affected are male.
Past-year gambling participation by gender. Source: AIHW, 2022.
Which age group is most at risk?
Young adults carry the highest harm rates by a wide margin. At-risk gambling peaks among 18–34-year-olds — about 71% of young men and 56% of young women who gamble in that bracket are classified as at-risk of harm (AIHW, 2022). For online sports/race bettors the figure climbs to roughly 82% of the 18–34 cohort. Older Australians gamble more on lotteries and pokies but at far lower harm rates.
Gen Z and young adults: Australians aged 18–34 are the most exposed cohort. They are the core of the online wagering boom, the most likely to be classified at-risk, and the group most heavily targeted by gambling advertising during sport. Concern about young men funnelled from sports fandom into betting is the central driver of Australia's 2023–2026 reform debate.
Are gamblers rich or poor?
Pokie losses fall hardest on lower-income communities. State-level data has long shown that the suburbs with the most machines and the highest per-machine losses are disproportionately lower-income areas — making pokie spending effectively regressive. Online sports betting, by contrast, skews toward younger, working-age men across the income range. The Productivity Commission and successive inquiries have noted that a small share of heavy losers — many of them problem gamblers — generate a large share of pokie revenue.
How many Australians are harmed by gambling?
An estimated ~1.1 million Australians experience problems from their own gambling, and the AIHW reports that almost half of those who gambled — about 46% — are classified as being at risk of, or already experiencing, gambling harm. Harm extends well beyond the gambler: national research has estimated that around 6% of Australian adults report being harmed by someone else's gambling, meaning the true reach of harm runs into millions more affected family members and "concerned significant others".
Pokies and online betting drive the harm. People who bet on pokies or who regularly bet online show by far the highest at-risk rates, while lottery and scratchie players show the lowest. The concentration of losses among a relatively small group of heavily harmed gamblers is why public-health researchers and the Grattan Institute argue that mandatory loss limits (Grattan proposed caps such as A$100 a day, A$500 a month and A$5,000 a year) and a gambling-advertising ban would target the harm without affecting most casual players.
Who runs Australian gambling?
Three layers dominate the market. Pokies sit largely in pubs and registered clubs (and state-licensed casinos), regulated state by state. Casinos are run by a small number of operators — principally Crown Resorts (Melbourne, Perth, Sydney; now owned by Blackstone) and Star Entertainment (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast). Online wagering is led by Sportsbet, owned by global giant Flutter Entertainment and the clear market leader, and Tabcorp, the long-established totalisator and retail-wagering operator, alongside Entain's Ladbrokes/Neds.
The scale is significant: Tabcorp reported wagering-and-media revenue of about A$1.25 billion in FY2025, while Sportsbet's parent Flutter disclosed roughly US$965 million of Australian revenue across the first three quarters of 2025. Both casino operators, however, have been engulfed in money-laundering scandals (see below).
What are the most notable documented gambling-harm cases?
Kakavas v Crown Melbourne (High Court, 2013): High-roller Harry Kakavas sued Crown Melbourne to recover more than A$20 million he lost over about a year, arguing that Crown had exploited his pathological gambling addiction by lifting his self-exclusion and luring him back with a private jet, free accommodation and rebates. The High Court of Australia ruled against him, finding that — absent specific protective laws — a casino has no general legal duty to protect a problem gambler from himself. The case became the landmark authority on operator liability in Australia.
Guy v Crown (the "Dolphin Treasure" pokies case, 2017–18): Former gambling addict Shonica Guy, represented by law firm Maurice Blackburn, brought a Federal Court test case against Crown and machine-maker Aristocrat alleging that design features of a popular pokie — including uneven ("starving") reels and oversized fifth reels — were misleading and deceptive because they made wins appear more likely than they were. The case ultimately failed in court, but it forced public disclosure of how pokie maths is engineered and fuelled the national debate on machine design and player protection.
Crown's A$450M and Star's ~A$400M money-laundering penalties (2023–2025): In 2023, Crown Resorts agreed to pay AUSTRAC a penalty of about A$450 million for serious and systemic breaches of anti-money-laundering law. In June 2025, AUSTRAC pushed in the Federal Court for a proposed penalty of about A$400 million against Star Entertainment, alleging Star enabled billions in suspect transactions — including roughly A$14.7 billion pushed through its casinos by the Macau-based Suncity junket between 2016 and 2020. These are the largest gambling-sector penalties in Australian history and have left Star fighting for survival.
How does Australia compare to the rest of the world?
On a per-adult basis, Australia is the world's heaviest-losing gambling nation — a position it has held in international rankings for years. The Grattan Institute's 2024 comparison makes the gap stark:
Estimated gambling loss per adult per year. Source: Grattan Institute, A better bet (2024). Australians lose roughly twice as much per head as Americans.
The structural explanation is consistent across every analysis: Australia's uniquely permissive approach to pokies — allowing high-intensity gaming machines in ordinary neighbourhood pubs and clubs, not just casinos — combined with aggressive online sports-betting advertising, produces losses no other developed country matches per head of population.
Quick Tip for reading these numbers: Watch which "per-adult" figure a source uses. The QGSO's official measure put 2022–23 losses at about A$1,527 per adult; the Grattan Institute's headline figure of A$1,635 uses a slightly different basis and adjustment. Both confirm the same conclusion — Australia leads the world — but the exact dollar figure depends on the methodology and year.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Australians lose gambling each year?
Australians lost a record A$31.5 billion in 2022–23, the highest total in two decades, according to the Queensland Government Statistician's Office. That works out to roughly A$1,527 per adult on the QGSO's measure, or A$1,635 per adult by the Grattan Institute's estimate — the highest in the world.
Why do Australians lose more than anyone else in the world?
Because of pokies. Australia is one of very few countries that allow electronic gaming machines in ordinary pubs and registered clubs, not just casinos. Pokies alone accounted for A$15.8 billion — half of all gambling losses — in 2022–23. Australia holds about 3% of the world's pub-and-club poker machines despite having only ~0.3% of the global population.
What do Australians gamble on most?
By money lost: pokies (~A$15.8B), then wagering on racing and sports (~A$9B), casinos (~A$3.6B) and lotteries (~A$3.1B) in 2022–23. By participation, lotteries are the most popular (64% of adults), followed by race betting (39%), sports betting (34%) and pokies (33%).
How many Australians have a gambling problem?
An estimated ~1.1 million Australians experience problems from their gambling, and the AIHW classifies about 46% of all people who gamble as being at risk of, or already experiencing, harm. At-risk rates are highest among men and among 18–34-year-olds (about 71% of young men who gamble).
Which Australian state gambles the most?
New South Wales has the densest concentration of pokies — about 13.3 machines per 1,000 adults versus a national average of 8.3 — and more gaming machines than every other state and territory combined. It consistently records the highest per-adult gambling spend in the country.
Is online gambling legal in Australia?
Online sports and race betting and online lotteries are legal and regulated, and the online market exceeded A$12.5 billion in 2024. However, online casino games, online pokies and online in-play sports betting are banned under the Interactive Gambling Act, so the online boom is concentrated in wagering. For the full legal picture, see our companion page on whether gambling is legal in Australia.
Who are the biggest gambling companies in Australia?
In online wagering, Sportsbet (owned by Flutter Entertainment) is the market leader, followed by Tabcorp and Ladbrokes/Neds. In casinos, Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment dominate — though both have faced record money-laundering penalties, with Crown paying about A$450 million in 2023 and Star facing a proposed ~A$400 million AUSTRAC penalty in 2025.
Sources
- Queensland Government Statistician's Office — Australian Gambling Statistics (39th edition, 1997–98 to 2022–23)
- Grattan Institute — "A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm" (2024)
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) — Gambling in Australia
- Australian Institute of Family Studies / Australian Gambling Research Centre — Gambling participation and experience of harm in Australia (2022)
- AIFS/AGRC — Regular online betting in Australia, 2022
- FocusGN — Australian gambling losses reached US$21.52bn in 2022-23, study finds
- Wikipedia — Gambling in Australia
- iGaming Business — Star's future again uncertain as AUSTRAC pushes for AU$400 million penalty (2025)
- Maurice Blackburn — How gaps in Australian law enable exploitation of gamblers (Kakavas, Guy)
- The Conversation — Whatever happens to Star, the age of unfettered gambling revenue may have ended
- The Straight — How publicly listed wagering companies fared in 2024 (Sportsbet, Tabcorp)