BetStop - the bigger picture of gambling reforms

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

In August 2023, a newly created National Self-Exclusion Register under the name of BetStop became the 10th measure to be introduced alongside significant advertising restrictions and a ban on the use of credit cards for online wagering.

Via the BetStop platform, Australians can voluntarily self-exclude from all Australian licensed interactive wagering services (online and telephone-based) for a minimum period of 3 months, up to a lifetime, and free of charge.

Once a person is registered, wagering operators are prohibited from allowing them to place a bet or open a betting account. Operators are also prevented from directly marketing – such as sending emails and SMS communications to them.

A strong uptake

Preliminary findings published by the Australian Communications and Media Authority last week reported 19,127 registrations to self-exclude from all licensed online and phone wagering providers in Australia.

Almost 88 per cent of all registrants proceeded beyond the minimum period of three months and more than a third of those who have signed up have elected to proceed with a lifetime exclusion from interactive wagering services.

While the uptake has been strong across the board, the fact that the overwhelming majority of registrants are aged 30 years and under reveals that appetite for gambling (or more so responsible gambling) in Australian modern-day culture may be on the decline. In an industry almost entirely reliant on the punting dollar, how could such figures affect the industry?

The times are changing

Over the past 10 years, the Australian thoroughbred racing industry has witnessed a series of changes to wagering trends. In the 2013/14 season, TAB retail outlets were one of the highest yielding avenues of wagering turnover for thoroughbred racing.

Ten years on, TAB retail outlets are one of the lowest sources of betting turnover while corporate bookmakers and exchanges have grown exponentially being now considered the industry’s main avenue holding a 63 per cent share of the total wagering dollar on Australian races. A transition away from on-course and retail avenues can be largely attributed to the convenient and accessible betting options provided by online wagering services as well as their direct promotional messaging.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Australian Institute Of Family Studies, around three-quarters (73 per cent) of Australian adults gambled at least once in the past 12 months and almost two in five (38 per cent) gambled at least weekly.

While the most common products respondents spent money on were lotteries/scratchies (64 per cent), horse racing was the second most popular source of their gambling dollar with 38 per cent of respondents spending money on racing products.

In a separate study conducted by the same institute, regular sports bettors were found to be overwhelmingly male (88 per cent) and aged between 18 and 49 (75 per cent).

Healthy prizemoney but for how long?

With the industry’s main source of revenue sourced from wagering, it's fairly logical to see why prizemoney increases have been so strong in recent years.

An up-tick in wagering turnover during and shortly after the pandemic were the main precursors of significant boosts to prizemoney levels in Australian racing. With over $938 million offered in prizemoney last season, racing participants have enjoyed close to an 85 per cent increase in prizemoney over the past 10 years.

Regardless of a 9.5 per cent decrease in wagering turnover from the 2021/22 season to last season, the industry seems to be in a prosperous state when taking a quick glance at overall wagering turnover. However, the well-documented decline in appetite for the industry’s most valuable wagering product for prizemoney contribution being on-course pari-mutuel wagering and the tote reveal a big problem. While online and corporate wagering provide weaker contributions towards prizemoney funding, every cent counts.

While the roll-out of strategies like BetStop are no doubt an essential measure to tackling problem gambling, its uptake and the wider reforms around gambling reveal a wider phenomenon around changing cultural and societal norms.

Australians are widely known for their love of a punt and a drink, however our declining punting dollar and the upsurge for a non-alcoholic beverage over a beer reveals a significant shift in Australian culture. Avoiding the debate of whether such changes in society are better or for worse, addressing the issues surrounding the sustainability of wagering and its funding of our industry must be at the forefront of our minds.