Overview of gambling

Gambling is the staking of money or anything of value on games of chance. Disorders of gambling behaviour are common; 7.2% of Australians were considered at risk of harm from gambling in 2018Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021. For every person with a disorder of gambling, at least 7 others are affectedProductivity Commission, 2010. Few people seek help, however, because they fear stigma or are unaware of resources to help themDowling, 2019. For potential gambling harms, see Potential gambling harms.

Gambling activities among Australians include:

• playing lottery games
• buying instant scratch tickets
• playing electronic gaming machines (EGMs), also known as poker machines (pokies)
• betting (including online) on horse or dog races, human sports, poker, e-sports (multiplayer video games played competitively for spectators)Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021.

Of these activities, playing electronic gaming machines is associated with the highest risk of developing gambling disorderThe Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), 2017, particularly for females, but harm from sports betting is increasing fastGainsbury, 2014Hing, 2014Hing, 2021. Online gambling has the potential to cause harms, particularly to males who are younger and very involved in web-based activitiesAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), 2017. ‘Micro-event betting’ (betting on single events during a game rather than the overall outcome) provides almost immediate results, enables impulsive betting and is associated with gambling disorderRussell, 2019.

Individual factors associated with gambling disorder includeAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021Balodis, 2020Felsher, 2010National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), 2018The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), 2017:

• young starting age (adolescence)
• having a parent or sibling with gambling disorder
• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin
• mental illness (including mood disorders, anxiety, personality disorders, disorders of substance use)
• childhood trauma
• Parkinson disease; it is not clear if the association with Parkinson disease reflects the pathology of the disease, the effects of dopamine agonists (eg pramipexole, ropinirole, pergolide) or both.

Gambling and gaming overlap in some activities. ‘Micro-transactions’ within video games (eg gambling to win an opportunity to buy loot boxes) provide gambling stimuli similar to micro-event betting; concerns are growing that these contribute to the risk of gaming disorderBrowne, 2020. Some gambling activities (eg poker machine playing) are marketed as a ‘gaming opportunity’ to reduce the negative connotations of gambling to consumers.