According to a study by H2 Gambling Capital, a global gambling analyst firm based in the UK, Australian adults’ gambling losses averaged $958 in 2017.
The average was the highest the study found worldwide.
Hong Kong citizens came is second at an average of $768 while Singapore adults’ gambling losses amount to $725 in 2017 and rank third.
Previously, the amount of Australian’s gambling per-capita losses were estimated at more than AU$1,200 on an annual basis, with the amount rising to as much as AU$1,324 in 2017.
The report spurred calls for more controls on gambling from anti-gambling and problem gambling support groups, according to Australian news reports. Many groups continued to point to poker machines, or “pokies” as a major force behind the statistics. Government statistics have shown that pokies account for over half of adult Australians’ annual gambling losses.
