The History of Gambling in Australia
Australia’s gambling industry is one of the largest playing markets in the world, second only to the United States and Macau. The history of gambling in Australia has a long story. According to historians, as early as 1852, Australia established the first horse racing club. This was the earliest legal gambling venue in Australia. In the 1920s, government-run lotteries began to appear. In 1956, New South Wales The club is allowed to operate slot machine gambling games.
Compared with the history of gambling in Australia in casino terms is much shorter. A historical moment was in Tasmania in 1973 when Australia’s first legal casino was built in Hobart. It was not until 1985 that Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and other relatively large states legalized casinos, and now every state in Australia there is at least one casino.
Gambling Statistics in Present Day Australia
According to a survey conducted by the Australian Production Committee, the proportion of residents participating in playing activities is as high as 82% of the total number of residents, of which 40% are regular playing.
Almost every gambler in Australia is a domestic resident. In 2007, 48 million tourists visited the casino, 95% of which were domestic residents. Although the number of foreign tourists accounts for a small proportion of casino customers, their contribution to the casino’s revenue is not small, and some of them are big gamblers. Such gamblers account for about 1% of the total number of gamblers, but their contribution to casino revenue is as high as 25%-35%.
Although gambling revenue is the most important source, Australian casinos are also trying their best to develop businesses other than gambling. The casino’s operating income is diversified. Non-gaming revenue comes from restaurants, hotels, and shops in the casino. Among Australian casino revenues
- gambling accounts for 78%;
- catering accounted for 12%;
- accommodation accounted for 6%;
- other stations 4%.
With the growth of gam bling, there is a long history of problem gambling in Australia. Even nowadays, some people still find it problematic to quit. There are plenty of histories when Australians simply gambled and lost estates and cars. All these people with problem stories need assistance and help. Thus, different help services exist to assist.
The Growth of Online Gambling in Australia
The history of online gambling in Australia starts with the appearance of the internet on the continent. With the development of internet technologies, on-line casino websites have started to develop in the network. Nowadays, their number increases, and new platforms to gamble constantly appear. Online gambling offers a lot of benefits to its users:
- Convenience;
- Possibility to use a credit card;
- All games in one plays;
- Real people;
- Live gambling;
- Mobile applications.
Moreover, esports has become very popular. The number of services that provide betting on video game competitions also increases in Australia.
Australians and Sports Betting
At present, the Australian playing industry mainly includes horse racing, sports guessing, slot machines, lotteries, casinos, etc. Australian gambling activities are an important leisure method of the Municipal Committee. Sports betting is primarily oriented on domestic players. Total sales of voting tickets are pooled at a store known as TAB, and the entertainer subtracts the remaining amount.
A total of about 3,000 TAB outlets can be found in various locations. Government-owned TAB shops that have been in operation since 1961 have been privatized, and nearly half of them (Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania) have been modernized and rebranded as UBET shops in 2015. Like trends around the world, bingo is also very popular. There are more than 10 land-based casinos regulated under the Casino Management Act of 2006.