Sportsbetting on the rise in Australia

IBIS World announced that bettors ‘down under’ staked a total of us$ 374.8 million on sportsbetting over the previous twelve months, although this was dwarfed by the us$ 14.3 billion spent on slots and poker machines.

“Sportsbetting is certainly the industry's star performer with market shares either stagnating or in decline across all other segments,” said Karen Dobie, General Manager for IBISWorld Australia. “The only other exception to this decline is gambling in casinos, which has increased to 20 percent of gambling expenditure over the past three years.

IBISWorld stated that increased marketing efforts are one factor driving the growth in sportsbetting as this has led to ‘greater awareness about how and where to place a bet’. Another factor is the diversity of bets on offer while sportsbetting is generally not viewed as a serious form of gambling, which means that more people are getting involved individually or collectively.

“People most likely to engage in sportsbetting are younger professionally employed individuals, often single, with significant disposable incomes,” said Dobie. “Sportsbetting is most accessible online and, given this demographic is particularly comfortable in the online environment, this is another factor driving growth.”

In terms of where the gambling dollars are coming from, IBISWorld declared that New South Wales has the largest proportion with 38 percent followed by Victoria and Queensland. In addition, the firm found that poker machines in pubs and clubs account for the highest proportion of gambling expenditure in every state except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

“More than 70 percent of us have a flutter at least once a year especially in line with key cultural events such as ANZAC Day and the Melbourne Cup,” said Dobie. “About 60 percent of us buy a lottery ticket each year while 30 percent play the ‘pokies’ and seven percent of us try our luck with sportsbetting.”