Recently, Australia has seen a significant rise in interactive gaming: the number of people who wager online has tripled during the latest lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria. Interactive gaming has become a favored pursuit among Aussie customers in September 2022, with Illion and AlphaBeta, two popular tracking companies, reporting that the iGaming industry surpassed the lockdowns peak registered in November 2021. Let’s explore some of the main factors lying behind that sharp spike.
Online Gamblers’ Numbers Triple Up
Published by both analytics companies tracking customer spending, statistics showed spending on live online casino Australia gambling activities tripled during the latest lockdowns in Victoria and NSW. It also surpassed levels seen during 2020 lockdowns, https://www.gamblingandracing.act.gov.au/gambling-harm/gambling-harm-during-covid-19.
The average weekly spend on gaming in the country increased from 100 per week before lockdowns to 385 per week ended September, 2022. According to the study results of both tracking companies, online gamblers’ numbers surpassed by almost one hundred points the peak in customers registered during Covid-19 in 2020 of 300 in November, 2021.
The Reasons of that Spike
But why are these best online casino Australia websites so popular, despite gambling being heavily legislated in Australia? Below are the two cases of that rise in customers.
The Latest Lockdowns
Commenting on the increasing spend tracker, Andrew Charlton, managing director of AlphaBeta, stated that statistics showed many Aus customers turned to online gambling during the latest lockdowns, realizing that online gaming was as close as their pockets.
Likewise, the CEO of Illion, John Banfield, confirmed to the media that the rise in the iGaming industry was most likely due to the closure of land-based casinos, pubs, clubs, and virtually all other forms of entertainment in New South Wales and Victoria since summer 2020, leaving Aussie punters with nothing else to entertain with.
The Technological Breakthroughs
In addition, the rise in online gaming cases coincides with technological breakthroughs. People carry pocket devices that support a high-speed internet connection, making it incredibly easy to wager online. What’s more, Australian users are constantly being bombarded with direct marketing offers and ads, increasing their likelihood of creating an interest in online gambling.
Why Does iGaming Need Reconsideration?
In September 2022, the main live mobile online casino Australia gambling activities that players reported spending money on were as follows below:
- lottery games: 56%;
- poker machines: 16%;
- wagering on eSports: 12.2%;
- scratch tickets: 11.6%;
- wagering on traditional sports: 5.2%.
The data provided by two companies tracking consumer spending requires careful consideration by Australian regulators to see whether current regulations, which permit sports betting but outlaws lottery online casino games and poker machines, are adequate to minimize gambling harm. It seems that the existing strategy, has been prepared by the ACT Gambling & Racing Commission needs reconsideration at the moment.
Furthermore, the current block on interactive casino games and online poker machines does not seem to affect the Australian market. As long as there is demand, there will always be some unregistered operators ready to respond to that, despite gambling being heavily legislated in AU.
Finally, it is worth noting that the rise of online gaming is proving the need to apply the same strategy as the one applied to land-based casinos. Instead of keeping them outside of the law, the authorities need to start regulating them or at least take action in this direction. However, the decision is not in our hands but in the hands of the Australian government.