A rise in online gambling numbers is raising concerns that the expensive habit is spiraling out of control. Victorians have been outed as the worst offenders in online gambling, as data collected from online gambling sites showed that one in four Australian visitors are from Victoria.
Sourced from Experian Marketing Services, the released date also revealed a 23 per cent rise in visits to Australian sports betting and lottery sites over the past six months, amounting to almost five million individual visits.
During the six-month period, Tabcorp received 8.6 million visits, while Tatts received 6.9 million visits. In comparison, an offshore casino site 888.com only received 212,000 visits. Tabcorp commented that it was “recognised as a world leader in responsible gambling”, but decline to reveal how many people accessed its websites in terms of individual visits.
Experts are arguing online sports betting have become a normalised activity amongst its users, mainly young men. Monash University marketing research Dr Samantha Thomas told the Herald Sun,”For young men, this is becoming a normal part of their sporting experience.”
Experts have also raised concern that the use of gambling apps on mobile devices could drive the online gambling numbers further up.
“People can have a gambling company in their pockets 24/7,” Dr Thomas said.
