Sports gambling is the fastest-growing form of betting in Australia, according to Southern Cross University researcher Dr Sally Gainsbury, who is conducting a major survey of the nation's gamblers. Dr Gainsbury told The Sunday Mail that the rise of smartphones with mobile internet access is fuelling betting on sports matches.
"Within Australia and internationally these online gambling companies are increasing their expenditure on marketing, anywhere from 30 to 50 per cent in the last year alone,” Dr Gainsbury told The Sunday Mail.
"For problem gamblers there's that trigger, that impulse to gamble. For children… there is this link between the celebrity or sporting figure endorsing a gambling site. Kids look at that as something to aspire to. That certainly is of concern."
Mission Australia's Queensland State Director Penny Gillespie said there was a growing sense that sport could only be enjoyed if a bet was placed.
"For children, they're going to grow up thinking sport goes hand-in-hand with gambling."
The comments in the past weekend’s Sunday Mail echo those made earlier this month by University of Sydney Professor of Psychology Alex Blaszczynski, an addiction expert who believes faster internet speeds and the rise of smart phones has created a generation of young predominantly male gamblers who can bet “anywhere, anytime”.
The Age reported that Prof Blaszczynski was concerned more people could literally “lose a fortune without even leaving the comfort of their own home".
The number of people with sports betting-related problems attending the university's Gambling Treatment Clinics has surged by around 70 per cent in three years.
"Problem gambling has certainly moved away from the traditional picture of a person sitting for hours on end at a poker machine," he said. "These young men are reporting difficulties controlling their internet-based sports betting in increasing numbers.”
However, the online problem may also have an internet-driven solution in Mission Australia’s online financial counselling and gambling service.
Launched in late 2010 with the support of Chrisco, the Triple R services website aims to help gambling addicts improve their financial literacy and take control of their financial situation. The online resource includes information on who to turn to for help, lists 16 Mission Australia financial and gambling counselling services (with location maps and contact numbers), as well as resources like the Bet-lie Indicator, the Personal Money Plan Maker and the Money Issues Indicator.
The website is designed to encourage people to meet face to face with either a Triple R service or another support service that can help overcome problem gambling. Triple R stands for ‘reflect, refresh and realise’ as the service helps people to reflect on their situation, refresh their thinking, and realise their own potential.
To find out more about how you or someone you know can overcome a gambling addiction visit www.triplerservices.com.au.
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