Aussies Lose the Most: “Pokies” swallow dollars every day, with Singapore not far behind

Gambling in enjoyed worldwide and fresh global statistics have named Australia as the biggest gamblers, as-well as the biggest losers.

Australia is a crazy place. It’s hot as hell, and it’s full all sorts of poisonous, venomous and downright dangerous animals, places and things. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the parts of the place are that big, dry and empty, that people genuinely die on the regular of thirst and starvation if they are unfortunate enough to break down whilst travelling from one side to the other. Seriously, pack some water and a mobile phone if you have a long drive through Australia.

So, recent figures show that gambling is extremely popular in Australia, maybe because the act of gambling is a daily occurrence; I think it’s safe to say most people would consider residing in Australia a massive gamble with their own life.

We’ve taken a look at the gambling stats of Australia and the rest of the worlds top losers too; keep reading if you want to learn more.

Gambling down under

So it’s only natural that the Aussies look to spend there time indoors and away from all the potentially life threatening things outside. Recent gambling news has shown that what they like to do with this time is lose money placing bets. Okay, so they probably don’t like to lose the money, but this is generally what happens.

Biggest losses by country

• USA ($119bn)

• China ($76bn)

• Japan ($31.4bn)

• Italy ($23.9bn)

Australia has the highest rate of gambling worldwide, with an estimated 80% of Australian adults engaging in some kind of gambling. So it’s not surprising to learn that in 2013, each individual adult lost over $1000 dollars each; giving the country a combined total loss of $18.4 billion for the year. To put this in perspective, Germans who engage in gambling activities lost just over $200 each throughout the year.

In particular, the most popular form of gambling was through gaming machines which are referred to as pokies. Aussies love them.

Other big players

However, the report showed that Singapore is not far behind, with average losses per adult at around $900 per year. Singaporeans are growing concerned that this is becoming a bit of a problem, and the National Council is presently looking at ways to address the current epidemic of addiction and problem gambling.

This is in stark comparison to Australia, where authorities don’t really seem to think they have anything to worry about; with around 10% of the Australian annual revenue coming from gambling, we can see why. Everything is fine.

In the same year in the United States, $119 billion was lost by gamblers. $119 billion; this is an unbelievable amount of money considering their average loss per person was about $500. Of course, the huge population difference between the States and the other two mentioned countries plays a significant role here.

Although, coming in second on overall losses by country are China; one of the over-a-billion population countries. The Chinese lost $76 billion a year, which is quite a way off Americas total and China have way, way more people that the western super-power.

But, hey, everybody likes to bet on sports in the USA; in China, not so much.

Trends show similarities worldwide

The overall theme of the report was that gambling in all forms, in all countries, is on the increase; and losses incurred by all countries that partake are expected to rise alongside it. In particular computer based, digital TV and mobile betting are likely to grow at the quickest rate and also by the most amount of money. Don’t worry though, casino operators, your intake is expected to rise also just not by quite as much.

The growth of the interactive gambling sector has come on leaps-and-bounds in the last few years. With technology now increasing at an unbelievable rate, it is easily understood why this slice of the gambling pie is hottest right now.

Going back to Australia, they presumably will still be losing the most money from gambling next year too. The Aussies fully embrace gambling in all its forms and really just see it as a bit of fun. They don’t seem to mind handing over their cash either.

Although, their opinion may not be the most reliable; keep in mind Britain used to send literally thousands of convicted criminals there, to get them as far away from the queen as possible. Yeah, that genuinely happened. So, if you love gambling, head down under and hit up a few machines. Remember that they have kangaroos too; that’s pretty cool.

To all the Aussies who may be a tad offended right now; sorry mates.