With limited opportunities for land-based gambling during COVID-19, Rebecca Jenkinson says the AGRC's research showed the median amount gambled dropped for men and women older than 34 from 23 per cent to eight per cent.
Among all participants, females, who spent their money mainly on lotto and lottery products, were less at risk of gambling-related problems than males, 67 per cent compared to 84 per cent.
However, for Jenkinson, the biggest concern is the group of young men who have increased their median monthly gambling expenditure from $687 to $1,075 according to her study.
The significant proportion of the young men in this sample, in fact, nine out of ten young men would be classified as being at risk of or already experiencing some gambling-related harm. A lot of these young men did sign up for new online accounts during Covid, so they have more accounts now. We found that around 20 per cent of people reported the first gambling when they were under 18, so one of the things that we really want to do is delay uptake or initiation in gambling certainly until young people are at least 18 years old.
For in-language fact sheets and brochures on a range of different topics around problem gambling, including how to talk to your teens about digital gaming, visit the website.
for New South Wales offers confidential, free telephone or face-to-face counselling in a preferred language on 1800 856 800.
In Victoria, Gambler’s Help provides free and confidential support in Arabic, Cantonese Mandarin and Vietnamese. An interpreter can be arranged for other languages on request. Visit more information or call 1800 858 858.
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact Gambler’s Help through the National Relay Service. For more information, visit .
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