Accessing gambling and pornography sites may well get harder in Australia, if plans for mandatory age-verification go ahead. But there are already technical workarounds for determined web users.
It is possible to ‘gamble responsibly’, with these handy tips. But if you can’t, there’s help.
While total gambling spending in Australia decreased during 2016-17, sports betting increased by 15.3%, from A$921 million to A$1.062 billion.
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Banning offshore gambling sites sounds sensible enough, and the federal government is planning to do this. But to what extent are these sites really ripping off Australian gamblers?
When you engage in recreational gambling, you’re not simply playing against the odds – you’re battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge who uses human nature against you.
Large proportions of regular internet gamblers use offshore sites.
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For online gamblers, there are many attractions to offshore sights, so governments must focus on arming consumers with better knowledge about its risk.
The 2018 World Cup inspires new gamblers.
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Online gambling collects a huge amount of data. But instead of personalising offers to keep you hooked, real-time data can be used to prevent problematic gambling behaviour.
The U.K., where sports gambling is legal, provides a good source of data for the likely impact in the U.S.
Reuters/Andrew Boyers Livepic
Many states are pondering making gambling on sports legal after the US Supreme Court overturned a federal ban. But is the industry really worth as much as some say it is?
The one-metre long relatives of this snappy croc at the Koorana Crocodile Farm, near Rockhampton, helped test the betting risks of potential gamblers.
Flickr/Michael Gorey
Research that studied the pokie risks gamblers were prepared to take after they held a live crocodile has been awarded one of this year’s Ig Nobel prizes.
Greater protections for online gamblers are clearly needed, given its growth and higher rates of problem gambling among its users.
AAP/Lukas Coch
There is reason to suggest new reforms, such a banning credit bets and establishing a self-exclusion register, will have some impact in helping to tackle problem gambling online.
Sports betting has become a high-profile part of the rugby league’s income and branding.
Karl Monaghan
Daryl Adair, University of Technology Sydney and David Bond, University of Technology Sydney
The NRL is trying to reduce its exposure to the integrity risks posed by spot-fixing.
William Hill is among the online bookies to be registered in the Northern Territory, where the tax and regulatory environment is more favourable.
AAP/Lukas Coch
No state wants to see its revenue base decline – particularly when the jurisdiction benefiting doesn’t even tax (or regulate) its bookies as well as it might.
The government has vowed to close a loophole that allows some online bookmakers to circumvent the ban on online in-play betting.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Online wagering is likely to be very harmful to a new generation of gamblers who habitually use mobile devices. It has the capacity to be very high intensity.
Barry O'Farrell was tasked with reviewing Australia’s online gambling regulations.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
While season-long fantasy football has been around for years, the rise of daily formats has radically changed how fans watch and root for teams.
Those concerned with the growing harms of online gambling will be disappointed with the terms of reference of a new Australian review.
Reuters/Bobby Yip
At least 75% of those with a gambling problem have it because of poker machines in clubs or pubs. Yet we see little concern from the government about this group.
In the lead-up to next week’s Melbourne Cup, bookmaker Tom Waterhouse is heavily marketing a “$25 million bet that stops a nation”. All you have to do is give him A$10 and if you place the first 10 horses…
For some vulnerable gamblers, social casino games can trigger a desire to gamble for real money, while for others the games can act as a useful distraction.
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Free-to-play social online games that simulate gambling are a hugely popular, and profitable, new phenomenon, but concerns have been raised about how innocent these games really are. Our recently published…