1. Introduction
The gambling industry is big business in Australia, with Australians losing $15 billion on gambling last year (Tasmanian Gaming Commission, 2003). The industry has grown substantially in the last twenty years following the widespread introduction and legalisation of casinos and gaming machines. The proportion of household disposable income directed towards gambling has escalated, as has the amount of taxation revenue provided to governments from gambling. A number of parallels have been drawn between gambling and alcohol as both are legal for adults, heavily marketed, strongly regulated, provide substantial tax revenue, can be viewed as entertainment, and are deemed a matter of personal responsibility.
This paper explores the concerns surrounding the role of gambling in the Australian community. It examines the extent to which gambling is an established part of industry at both the state and federal level and the manner in which gambling is regulated by various Australian governments. It provides analysis of both the positive and negative economic and social impacts of gambling in Australia.
2. What is Gambling?
Gambling, defined by Talina Drabsch (2003), is the act of staking money on uncertain events driven by chance. It can be subdivided into two groups: wagering (racing and sports) and gaming (casinos, gaming machines, keno and lotteries). It has been a feature of the Australian lifestyle for over 100 years with the first official horse meeting being run
Gambling is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society. Major casinos and online gambling sites attract
Up to 90% of adults in Australia have gambled at some point in their life.more statistics The promises made, were lies, and the same errors relapsed over and over again.We will be waiting when you can tell yourself there’s so much more to life than just gambling.We will be waiting for you gamblers to take a step back and think about the love ones whom you are destroying, but when will this happen? and will it not re- occur?. We now so well the difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, their family or friends and for the community. The latest research suggests that about one per cent of the population has a gambling problem. These ranges from increasing levels of debt,
Gambling is a popular and prevalent entertainment and leisure activity among Australians. Over 80% of Australian adults engage in gambling of some kind, which is the highest rate of gambling in the world. This number includes some 4% of the adult population who play the pokies once a week, accounting for some 62% of locals’ annual gambling spend.
Economic The Australian gambling market is remarkable in the world’s gambling industry. It has already been mature and showed a very strong growing momentum with 2.9% annually over the last five years, and it was predicted that the growth rate would be constant in a medium-term period. (Sudarsanam, 2011)There are four categories of gambling activities. Gaming is the largest type with the annual turnover over $10.2b, and other three types are Casino, wagering and lotteries, and the annual turnover was $3.2b, $2.6b and $2.1b respectively. (Sudarsanam, 2011)
There are many reasons to link financial problems and crime to the large revenues of gambling. Financial losses are one of the extreme threats and costs to the gambler. This is because
Gambling has been a popular activity in the United States from the 1600’s to the present day United States. As gambling grows as a worldwide enterprise, it expands the United States with the opportunities it provides and the attention it consumes. Gambling as a whole benefits different recreational activities and events such as sports. Gambling also allows people visiting places like Las Vegas to enjoy playing poker with friends and even winning money after a game of poker or Slot Machine. Gambling allows many activities to be expanded to their full potential and offer people the full
Gambling has made immense impacts on the everyday lives of a countless amount of people. Somehow this western pastime has integrated and almost taken control of the Asian and American Asian communities. The gambling issue within the Asian culture has affected families, and individuals in such drastic ways. Within the last few years we have seen an immense outburst of gambling in Macau, which is now the gambling capital of the world. Along with the recent outburst of gambling in Macau we find the dark side of gambling. The illegal activities that follow gambling have taken a toll on society as well as the people involved. Also we quickly see the economic impact made by all the money flowing through Macau. Gambling
Middleton and Latif write about the government’s plans to establish casinos in the United Kingdom and that more thought should be put in to the potential health effects it may cause. Both define problem gambling and the effects on one’s physical, mental and social well-being.
Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our
Gambling in the words of McLean and Yoder (2005) "means risking something of value, usually money, on an event that has an unknown outcome." In the opinion of the authors, gambling can assume various forms including but not in any way limited to "casino games, betting on sporting events, playing bingo, buying raffle tickets, and playing lotteries" (McLean and Yoder, 2005). Over time, gambling has grown in popularity with the same being legalized in many jurisdictions across the world. However, those opposed to gambling and the legalization of the same continue to cite various reasons in an attempt to backup their assertions. One of the reasons cited by those opposed to gambling according to McLean and Yoder (2005) is that the costs of gambling easily outweigh the benefits associated with the same. This argument advances the idea that the interests of the society override those of an individual. Thus the
Gambling, a so called voluntary tax on stupidity. Merely the subject of an extensive nanny state regime in Australia.
Utilitarianism suggests that the act that results in the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of individuals is the option that we should choose. Whether gambling should be deemed as an ethical or unethical act depends entirely on the consequences and benefits gambling has on casinos, gamblers, and non-gamblers. If gambling results in the overall increase of a casino’s profit and the overall increase of a gambler’s profit and mental health, then the act of gambling would be considered ethical. However, if the act has more negative implications than positive, then the act of gambling would be unethical. For example, it would be unethical if the transaction between casinos and gamblers was rigged solely for the casino 's financial benefit while exploiting those who gamble there. The significant concern of this paper is not to point a finger at casinos and other gambling mediums as a means to blame them for the mental conditions of those who we’d consider as gambling addicts. Instead, the point of this paper is to acknowledge the effects of gambling and propose the importance of responsibility. I will present an unbiased view of gambling, paying close attention to the psychological effects and motives individuals have regarding gambling at casinos. Also, I will look at the positive results associated with having a successful casino business, so that allowing gambling is ethical from a utilitarian point of
The Gambling Act: Tourism is one of Australia's most important industries and together with the hospitality and gaming sectors makes up a significant part of our economy. The industry is facing a raft of challenges from decreased global travel to increased regulation and workplace reform, the objective of this Act is to ensure the State and community as a whole benefit from interactive gambling. This regulation is designed to protect players and the community, ensuring games are fair, people and organisations offering interactive gambling act honestly and harm to individuals is minimised.
From commercial casinos to lottery tickets to off-track betting, it is easier to gamble today than ever before. While the government promotes the gambling industry to supplement tax revenues, it has not allocated
For thousands of years, mankind has enjoyed spending money on games of chance. Today this has developed into a multi-billion dollar worldwide phenomenon- the gambling industry.