Lead author Dr Aino Suomi said the study provides an important snapshot of Australian gambling habits.
“While the number of Australians who gamble is similar to 12 months ago – 60.3 per cent compared to 61.3 per cent – the number of individuals gambling at risky levels increased from 11.6 per cent to 13.6 per cent,” she said.
“This means a larger proportion of individuals who gamble are experiencing harm.”
“Our data also suggests a move away from venue-based gambling to activities that are readily available online, such as sports betting.”
The most popular gambling activity in 2024 was buying lottery tickets – 46.8 per cent of Australia’s adult population – followed by buying raffle or scratch tickets, gambling on poker machines and race betting.
Australian men, older age groups and those with lower levels of education had higher rates of gambling participation than younger age groups.
“We saw a substantial decline in gambling participation rates in the midst of the pandemic, from 65.6 per cent in 2019 to 53.5 per cent in 2021, in part likely due to a lack of access to gambling venues,” Dr Suomi said.