The NSW Youth Gambling Study 2020 interviewed 2,200 minors aged between 12-17 and found that 29.8% had engaged in monetary gambling and 40.1% had played games with gambling-like components, such as video games.
The study, commissioned by the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling to investigate the gambling attitudes and behaviors of young people, revealed that the problem gambling rate among participants was 1.5%, while an additional 2.2% were considered at-risk gamblers.
Gambling activities typically occurred with parents/guardians (53.7%), followed by friends aged 17 or younger (26.8%), relatives aged 18 or older (20.7%), relatives under 18 years (20.1%), and grandparents (19.5%). A small percentage (9.1%) gambled alone.
Natalie Wright, director of the Office of Responsible Gambling, mentioned that “The research showed relatively few young people gambled alone, with gambling typically taking place with a parent or another adult relative.”
Wright added that a significant amount of the gambling that did occur was on explicitly age-restricted products. “Underage gambling is illegal but, notably, 21% of participants reported engaging in gambling, including lotteries, scratchies, keno, and sports and race betting.”
Almost half (46.1%) of the participants reported noticing gambling advertisements on television during sports and racing events at least once a week.
“Exposure to gambling advertising, both through traditional and digital media, and developing a more positive perception of gambling due to these advertisements, were associated with gambling participation, intentions, and problems,” said the Office of Responsible Gambling.
Based on the study’s findings, the Office of Responsible Gambling plans to develop education strategies for parents, including online resources. Additionally, the Office is creating resources for teachers and partnering with sporting teams through the Reclaim the Game initiative to educate individuals about sports betting promotion.
The Office of Responsible Gambling stated that these initiatives align with the NSW Government’s broader commitment to ensure harm minimization is a significant part of gambling reform. Proposed new laws to enhance the current self-exclusion scheme and provide additional support to gaming machine players are being considered.
Last year, the New South Wales government conducted consultations on a series of proposed changes to help clubs and hotels in the state minimize gambling harm and support customers experiencing problems with their gambling activities.
Two years ago, authorities in the Australian state released the NSW Gambling Survey 2019, which discovered that just over half (53%) of the 10,000 people surveyed had gambled in the past 12 months, compared to 65% in 2011. The study, funded by the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, aimed to understand gambling patterns in the state, including who gambles, how gambling is evolving, the extent of gambling harm in the community, and regional impacts.
