By age 21, Sue’s* son has gambled away $100,000 online.
In the short period of time her son has been legally allowed to sign up to online betting apps he had ruined friendships, crushed his pride and shattered his parents’ trust in him.
Curtin independent MP Kate Chaney is part of a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling.Credit:James Brickwood
Sue had no idea her son had such a serious problem until the end of 2020, when he came to her asking for help to pay a $3700 loan he took from a friend to fund the addiction.
“My first question was, ‘Well, what about your savings?’ Because I knew that he had a fairly significant amount of savings for his age … and he told me that had gone as well,” she said.
Sue is one of many thousands of parents across Australia who hope a parliamentary inquiry set up last week to examine online gambling and its associated harms will highlight an issue that has been bubbling away out of sight for several years.
Despite seeking help from psychologists, gambling hotlines, and banning himself from betting apps, Sue’s son continued to gain access to them and source more money to gamble through friends, family, banks and loan sharks until his debt reached an eye-watering $100,000.
Sue said her son had “fallen off the wagon” several times, and she kicked him out of the house at one point, but ultimately decided support and help was the best path to recovery.
However, she lamented the hole he had dug himself.
“How sad that a young guy has experienced such a significant setback to the start of his life,” she said.
“He’s going to be paying us back, loans, and bank loans for many years when all those savings could be going towards a house deposit or a trip away travelling and experiencing life.”
Sue hoped the inquiry would push lawmakers to implement bans on gambling advertising and adopt other preventative measures to drive young Australians, particularly young men, away from betting.
“These gambling operators, they’ve got behavioural psychologists involved in their marketing, and they’re setting up venues and send out their texts and things knowing what is going to draw people in,” she said.
“I’m not saying we need a baby them or spoon-feed them, [just] that maybe we just need to put a few more measures in place.”
Rod* is a WA father whose 20-year-old son Oli* washed away $25,000 of his hard-earned savings within 11 months.
He said access to the many betting apps allowed his son’s addiction to prosper.
“Once he lost about $5000, he then banned himself from the first gambling company, then the temptations come back, and he’s signed up with another one. Then he’s banned himself from that one, and then he signed up with another one,” he said.
“When I was my son’s age if I wanted to gamble, I had three options. I had to go to the TAB, I had to go to Tasmania to Westpoint casino, or I had to drive four hours into New South Wales to play a poker machine.
“Now all you need is a smartphone.”
Access to different betting apps as a way of skirting around addiction roadblocks may be a thing of the past by the end of the year.
In July, the Australian Communications and Media Authority announced it was introducing a national self-ban register from all betting apps known as BetStop, which would be advertised on all licensed Australian betting providers.
The ACMA said BetStop would be launched “in coming months”.
Rod and Sue were two constituents who shared their story with independent Curtin MP Kate Chaney, who is on the committee conducting the gambling inquiry.
Chaney supported the inquiry’s focus on advertising.
“I guess the thing that struck me about it is its such a hidden problem because there’s so much shame around it, young people are happy to tell their mates about the wins but not the losses,” she said.
“Gambling advertising is everywhere, it’s so normalised as a part of watching sport for young people and then people just don’t talk about the negative part of it, so I think the issue is much bigger than we think.
“I do think stopping it from being seen as a normal and expected part of participating in sport is a good step.”
Responsible Wagering Australia, the group representing some of Australia’s biggest online gambling companies, was contacted for comment.
The committee is seeking submissions for the inquiry and will report to parliament on its findings next year.
*Names have been changed to protect their anonymity.
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