More Children Gambling Online Than Playing Sport in Australia, Says Study

One in three Australian children aged 12-17 is engaging in online gambling, in systems that are described as ’scary' and hard to understand.

Teenagers in Australia are also more likely to gamble than to play a sport. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Australians already gamble more than any other nation on earth, but recent research shows the practice is now becoming popular before children even reach adulthood.

New research from the Australia Institute shows nearly one in three children aged between 12 and 17 are gambling, while almost half of people aged 18-19 are gambling—a total of 60,000 Australian youngsters.