Sports Betting Leads Online Gambling Explosion
Published March 22, 2012
Sports betting is the fastest form of online gambling among Australians, a study finds.
We all know Australians love taking a punt on a wide variety of sports, a fact backed up by a study from industry research group IBIS World which shows that online gambling has led to a rapid rise in sports betting.
Sports Betting Gaining Popularity
Sports betting was the fastest growing market segment in the Australian online gambling sphere, with annual growth of 14.7 percent over the last five years, according to the study. It found that sports betters were mostly young, single professionals with disposable income, who did not view it as a serious form of gambling.
Spending was driven by easy online accessibility, and by the increasing diversity of bets on offer - including first goal scorer and half time scores. However, despite its rising popularity within the industry, sports betting accounts still made up for only 1.6%, or $360.5 million of total gambling spending.
Casino gambling accounted for 20% of expenditure, while pokies accounted for 60% despite joining lotteries and racing in a relative decline.
Aussies Prolific Gamblers
Australians are among the biggest spenders on gambling in the world, the study found, predicting that expenditure would reach $22.5 billion or an average of $1,256 per person in 2011-12. New South Wales accounted for 38% of gambling spending, followed by Victoria and Queensland.
More than 70% of Australians have a flutter at least once a year, most of them on big occasions like Anzac Day or the Melbourne Cup, the study said. Many others using online gambling facilities to place bets on Australian Open tennis, the Formula One Grand Prix, and the AFL and NRL grand finals.
