Football betting continues to thrive, according to stats. But what can we do to stop it?

Late last week, data revealed that Australia’s football betting habits are growing at an alarming แทงบอลออนไลน์. According to the Australian football betting Statistics 2014-15, football betting is the leading cause of death in Australia.

The state-specific losses vary greatly: New South Wales lost $1,518 on average, while Tasmania lost $762.

The pokies account for the majority of football betting spending. Of the total $22.7 billion spent in 2014-15 on football betting, $11.6 billion (51%) was lost to poker machines in pubs or clubs.

It also varies from one state to the next. These pokies were worth $5.7 billion in NSW. It was $2.6 billion in Victoria. It was nothing in Western Australia.

The real growth in football betting, which includes the use of poker machines in, was more than 16% (adjusted for inflation), to $5.2 billion. Victoria was home to the largest chunk ($1.9 billion). With $1.4 billion in losses, NSW came in second.

Surprisingly many football betting products have experienced strong growth rates. In recent years, sports betting has seen a rapid increase – reaching 17% annually by June 2014.

In 2008, a High Court ruling allowed interstate betting companies to operate in states that didn’t have a license. A series of takeovers from large international bookies gave it a second boost. The latest figures show that recent growth has exceeded even the extremely high growth rates of previous years with real growth of 28.2% between June 2015 and June 2015.

Advertising seems to be paying off. Last year, the Australians lost $814.6 Million on sports betting.

Pokies remain the most popular game in town and still hold a significant football betting. Out of the $1,518 per head lost in NSW, $64.8% went to pokies at pubs and clubs. It is not surprising, considering NSW has approximately 95,000 poker machines and 70% in clubs. The remaining 100,000 are available in Australia (barring WA).

Is this growth a problem or good?

The biggest source of football betting harm is the pokies. Poker machines are responsible for around 75% of football betting -related harm. They are almost non-existent.

Recent research found that only 16% of Victorian adults use pokies. This means that the average per-capita spending of actual users is $3,493, not $559 per annum. A smaller percentage of this group uses pokies on a regular basis, which results in losses that are many times higher than the average.

football betting harm is getting more concentrated. Evidence suggests that it is more concentrated in high-stress communities where poverty and disadvantage are amplified by football betting losses.

To put it mildly the growth in sports betting has been phenomenal. State taxes are one thing; wholesale attacks on the health and well-being of the community are another thing entirely. Worse, research shows that children are very exposed to football betting ads. This is because football betting ads are allowed during G-rated programming, if it’s a sports broadcast.

This loophole is difficult to explain, except that it acknowledges the lucrative nature of football betting ads as a source of revenue for broadcasters. Broadcast rights payments give sport codes a cut, which is a result of the large advertising budgets of bookies who have deep pockets and a desire for growth.

What are the options?

This new parliament gives us the opportunity to curb some of these พนันบอลออนไลน์. Unrestricted advertising, which exposes children to regular football betting normalisation, is the lowest-hanging fruit. This is completely under the control of the federal government and it can end it at any time it wishes. While the consumer protection measures that were promised prior to the election are a positive start, advertising is the real problem.

The pokies? Since 2010, when Gillard-Wilkie threatened their rivers, substantial political donations and the careful support of select major party politicians have done wonders for the pokie lobby. Crossbench MPs Nick Xenophon, Andrew Wilkie have not stopped their concerns.

The federal government is able to act again. Xenophon, Wilkie and others have made it clear that they expect football betting reform will be at the forefront of the new parliament.

These new figures add fuel to their concern. football betting harm is a significant source of harm to the community’s health and well-being. It is comparable to major depression. While state taxes are one thing, wholesale attacks on the well-being and health of the community is another.

football betting reform, regardless of what the new parliament decides, seems certain to be part the mix.