Commonly Asked Questions
Financial problems
Lost productivity loss and work problems
Relationship difficulties
Family violence
Emotional and psychological distress
Health problems
Crime
Alcohol and drug use
Self-harm and suicide
How common is gambling?
About 70 per cent of people in Victoria gamble, and 1 in 5 people gamble online. The most popular types of gambling are electronic gaming machines (pokies), sports and race betting, lotteries, casino games, and bingo. Currently, there are 431 gaming machines across 6 venues in Whitehorse.
How much money is spent on gambling in Whitehorse?
Everyday Whitehorse residents lose an average of $153,738 on poker machines. In 2022/23 this totalled more than $56 million for the year. This figure does not include other forms of gambling or online gambling.
What are the harms associated with gambling?
One in five Victorians who gamble experience harm from gambling. This harm can affect not only the person gambling but also those close to them. For example, high-risk gambling may affect up to six other people.
The harms linked to gambling include:
Who is most at-risk of harm?
Younger people (18–24 year olds) and older people (55-65 year olds) are most at risk of experiencing gambling harm. Men are also at a higher risk compared to women.
Why is online gambling an issue?
Australians gamble online 20 per cent more than any country in the world, and online gambling has become much more common in the last decade.
Online gambling poses a higher risk of lifelong gambling issues and gambling on e-sports and fantasy sports, in particular, lead to much higher levels of harm than other forms of gambling.
Why is gambling advertising and promotion an issue?
A clear link has been established between increased gambling advertising and increased prevalence of gambling. In the last decade, the amount of gambling advertising has increased by over 220 per cent. On average there are 948 gambling advertisements per day on free-to-air television in Victoria.
Children are particularly vulnerable to gambling advertising, with 1 in 4 children in Victoria able to name four or more gambling brands.