Numbers Reveal Explosion of Internet Gambling in Australia

Internet gambling in Australia is on the rise, as reflected in recent profit figures coming out of the country’s gambling industry. Unfortunately for the Australian government, however, most of this online gambling action is taking place at internet gambling sites that sidestep local gambling taxes, so the feds are actually getting less money from gamblers than ever before.  

The first set of figures shows that fewer gamblers are spending their time at the pokies. In South Australia, the amount of money punters poured into pokies this year is down $10 million from last year. Pokies profits are now the lowest they’ve been for 6 years. Pubs and clubs in Australia are also seeing profits dip. Some blame the recent smoking ban, but others say that online gambling sites in Australia are the cause of declining business.  

Of course, the government has been working hard in recent months to reduce the number of pokies available in Australia. In general, it seems that the public’s attitude towards pokies is becoming steadily more negative, while internet gambling and internet betting in Australia are quickly becoming more socially acceptable, due in part to a recent surge in advertising campaigns launched by online gambling firms.  

Despite talks of censoring the internet of all foreign-based online gambling sites that are not licensed to operate in Australia, these sites are the ones that are picking up players. As Australia’s gamblers move more and more towards the internet, the general lack of local options leaves them no choice but to sign up with overseas internet casinos. Such sites cannot be taxed by the Australian government, so as officials work hard to keep gambling revenue local, it seems the reverse is actually happening, with less and less tax money pouring into government coffers.