Around one in six Australian adults report indicators of risky gambling, while online gambling continues to grow, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).
The report, Gambling in Australia 2026, draws on a national survey of 3,482 adults and is the seventh wave of research tracking gambling participation and risk since 2019.
While overall gambling participation has stabilised at around 60 per cent since 2023, approximately 17 per cent of Australian adults report at least one indicator of gambling-related problems.
Lead author Associate Professor Aino Suomi, Director of the ANU Centre for Gambling Research, said the findings highlight the need to look beyond participation rates to better understand gambling-related harm.
"We're seeing fewer Australians gambling than a decade ago, but that hasn't translated into a corresponding reduction in gambling-related problems," said Associate Professor Aino Suomi.
"Gambling participation appears to have settled, but the level of risk remains concerning.
“We need to shift attention from looking at how many people gamble to how they gamble, and who is most affected."
Online gambling is now the predominant mode of gambling, with 35 per cent of Australian adults gambling online at least half the time.
Sports betting (9 per cent of population of which 90 per cent is online) and race betting (12 per cent of population, 71 per cent online) are the most heavily online-based activities.
Of particular concern is the growth in online gambling on products that are illegal to offer in Australia.
Between 2024 and 2026, the proportion of casino table game players gambling online increased from five to 22 per cent, while the proportion of poker machine players gambling online almost doubled, from seven to 13 per cent.
"Online casino games and poker machines are illegal to offer in Australia, yet Australians are increasingly accessing them online," Associate Professor Suomi said.
"This raises serious questions about the reach and effectiveness of existing consumer protections."
The findings highlight broader implications for families and households.
Couples with children reported the highest rates of online gambling, while five per cent of Australian adults said they had been negatively affected by someone else's gambling in the past year.
"Gambling is increasingly accessible in people's homes, at any time of day,” Associate Professor Suomi said.
“We need to better understand what this means for families, particularly children who may be exposed to gambling and its consequences in normal everyday setting.”
The findings come ahead of major gambling reforms scheduled to take effect in January 2027, including advertising restrictions, an opt-out register, and a ban on online Keno.
"These results give us an important baseline for evaluating the reforms," Associate Professor Suomi said.
"The real test will be whether we see reductions in gambling-related problems and harm, not just changes in participation."
Read the report, Gambling in Australia 2026, by Associate Professor Aino Suomi, Dr Markus Hahn and Professor Nicholas Biddle.
About the study
The report draws on seven waves of ANUPoll data between 2019 and 2026. The latest survey was conducted in March 2026 (n = 3,482) and weighted to Australian population benchmarks.
At-risk gambling was defined as a score of one or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), indicating at least one reported negative consequence of gambling in the past 12 months.
