Australian kids are gambling long before they turn 18

Almost 34 per cent of all teenagers in Australia gamble. (Getty Images/BFG Images) Link copiedShareShare articleWarning: This story contains discussion of addiction Dylan* was 15 years old when he gambled and lost his birthday money on an online game. The app — which he had downloaded onto a school iPad, the type reserved for online learning in the classroom — was a puzzle game that relied on chance instead of logic and used crypto as betting currency. "I lost the whole $100 and I remember I was pretty devastated," says the now 24-year-old from Victoria. Shaun Micallef examines Australia's complex relationship with gambling, discovering how we became the world's biggest losers and what this rapid expansion means for our future. Despite that loss, he found himself turning to the app in class or in his bedroom at home, spending the money he was earning from a part-time job at a fast-food outlet. Big wins and even bigger losses followed, and after a very lucky streak, Dylan's bets were beginning to blow out. "I remember there was a point where I did a $32,000 bet and I was like, 'I've got to stop.' "But I couldn't resist the urge to press the button … what if this one was the one that made it all back?" Dylan says it's easy for anyone to open a gambling account, including those who are underage. It's illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to gamble in Australia, yet one in three 12 to 17 year olds gamble, according to a 2025 discussion paper by the Australia Institute that looked at data gathered by the Department of Social Services, as well as a number of studies. That's about 600,000 teenagers. That figure increases to 902,000 once you add 18 to 19 year olds. Secondary-school teacher David* often overhears his Year 11 and 12 students discussing their gambling in class. "You hear conversation around the common room and in the halls about multis, especially same-game multibets for football," he says. Teacher David will often hear his students discuss their gambling. (Pexels: Cottonbro Studio/CC BY-ND 4.0) "I'm also an outdoor-ed teacher so when we go on camps I know the kids are watching sport and I've seen evidence of them putting bets on their phones. "They're not meant to have their phones on camps but when they go to their tents we can't monitor them." David says he has even caught a student placing a bet during class. After becoming concerned by reports of gambling among students, secondary school teachers Matthew Sekfy and Haydn Flanagan started Gambling Education Australia to provide gambling harm education to secondary schools and sporting clubs. Mr Sekfy says it has become common to hear about students gambling in classrooms. "They can get around security protocols so they can gamble at school on their laptops instead of doing their work," Mr Sekfy says. "I had a young person in Year 10 come up and show me that he'd won $500. "It begs the question, how are they getting on to [gambling] websites and apps on their phone and on their laptops as a younger person who is underage?" Underage gamblers are more likely to continue gambling until their mid-20s. (Pexels: Kaboompics.com/CC BY-ND 4.0) Playing footy and gambling were inextricably linked for 19-year-old Liam* from Melbourne. "I went to an all-boys school, and the culture was drinking, gambling and footy," he says. Using his older cousin's gambling account, Liam placed his first bet when he was 16 or 17 years old. Many of his mates did the same, opening accounts using the names of older relatives, including older siblings and even parents. "Me and my mates put on a fun bet. We didn't win but while watching the game, we had adrenaline rushing through our body," he says of their first bet. "That started a pattern of gambling with friends — like a social thing — throughout Year 11 and Year 12. "It started off with very little money and creating bigger multis in class during study period with higher odds and low stakes. It was a fun thing we all used to do." The gambling increased in Year 12 when Liam's friends, who he calls the "footy boys", began turning 18 and were able to open their own betting accounts. "Throughout the weekends of Year 12, you finish your footy game and then go out to a pub at night and then try and put some money on the horses so you can pay for an extra drink or just maybe do it to socially fit in," Liam says. Australians lose billions gambling, but the true cost goes far beyond the financial. "It's addictive when you start winning money." Liam found it difficult to resist the inducements that had begun to arrive via the gambling apps on his phone and his social media feed. "You definitely come across it on social media and I also had notifications on, so I would receive messages via the gambling apps," he says. Once Liam finished high school and began earning money during his gap year, he found himself gambling most days. "It got to the point where it wasn't just [gambling] socially, I was do

Australian kids are gambling long before they turn 18

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