Poker machine gambling is down overall, but not in the NT; WA tops lottery participation rates
The latest data from Roy Morgan’s Gambling Currency Report shows that the Northern Territory has the highest poker machine and betting participation rates of any Australian state or territory. Western Australia has the highest rate for lotteries and scratch tickets.
The Gambling Currency Report shows that the Northern Territory contained the highest proportion of poker machine players, with 23.6% of residents (aged 18+) having used a machine in an average three-month period. It was followed by Queensland (14.9%), New South Wales (incl. ACT) (14.2%), Tasmania (13.5%), South Australia (12.4%), Victoria (10.6%) and Western Australia (5.0%).
The Gambling Currency Report’s findings have been taken from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, compiled by in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 1,000 Australians each week in their homes.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that the poker machine participation rate in the Northern Territory is well above the national average.
“Over the past 18 years, the number of Australians using poker machines has halved, from 4.8 million to 2.4 million. When we look at the biggest users of poker machines, we see that the Northern Territory’s participation rate of 23.6% - nearly one in four - is close to double the Australian average of 12.3%. That national average is pulled down by the low rate of 5.0% in Western Australia, where regulations prohibit poker machine use outside of casinos.”
The Gambling Currency Report also examines rates of betting. “In general, participation in betting has been in decline for many years. The exception is sports betting, which has experienced an increase over the past 12 to 18 months even as betting on racing has declined,” Ms. Levine says.
The Northern Territory has the highest betting participation rate, with 15.3% of residents (aged 18+) having placed a bet in an average three-month period, followed by Victoria (10.8%), New South Wales (incl. ACT) (10.0%), Western Australia (9.6%), Queensland (8.1%), South Australia (7.4%) and Tasmania (4.7%).
Poker machine participation rate by state and territory
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, October 2018 – September 2019, n = 15,146 Base: Australians 18+
Betting participation rate by state and territory
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, October 2018 – September 2019, n = 15,146 Base: Australians 18+.
Western Australia has the highest participation rate for lotteries and scratch tickets, with 52.8% of residents (aged 18+) having purchased a ticket in an average three-month period. This was followed by Northern Territory (51.4%), Queensland (47.4%), Tasmania (44.9%), South Australia (40.1%), New South Wales (incl. ACT) (38.0%) and Victoria (37.1%).
“Although the participation rates of both lotteries and scratchies have declined since the early noughties, both have remained fairly stable over the past five years,” Ms. Levine says.
Lotteries/scratch ticket participation rate by state and territory
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, October 2018 – September 2019, n = 15,146 Base: Australians 18+.
View the Gambling Currency Report.
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Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
