OurFutures Institute, the organisation behind Australia’s nationally-adopted youth Vaping Prevention Program, has called on the federal government to fund Australia’s first evidence-based comprehensive national digital education resource to prevent problematic gambling behaviours in teenagers and young adults.
The bid comes amid alarming evidence that gambling harm is now taking hold earlier, faster and more aggressively than ever before among young people in Australia.
National data shows nearly one in three teenagers aged 12 to 17 already gamble, rising to almost half of 18- and 19-year-olds. Despite having the lowest incomes and least financial resilience of any adult age group, 18–19-year-olds lose more than $200 million a year to gambling. In just two years, average annual losses have increased twenty-seven-fold, from around $30 per person at 16 to more than $800 by the age of 18 and 19.
Exposure to gambling-like systems in digital environments starts young, with risk and spending normalised. This includes loot boxes, chance-based rewards and microtransactions embedded across youth platforms such as Roblox, e-sports games like FIFA’s Ultimate Team, mobile games, e-sports content and simulated gambling.
OurFutures Institute CEO Ken Wallace said that by the time legal access begins, gambling feels safe, rather than risky to many young people.
“Relying on regulation alone is like installing a smoke alarm after the house has already caught fire,” Mr Wallace said.
“For years, Aussie kids have been primed for a lifetime of gambling through gaming, sport and relentless digital marketing. The devastating consequences of this input is now being felt by our whole community.
“We must act now to prevent the inevitable car crash, or ready ourselves for the consequences and expense of inaction.”
Australians lose more than $30 billion a year to gambling, with online wagering markets driving growth and disproportionately targeting younger adults. Young men, in particular, face higher rates of participation, financial loss and severe mental health consequences, including suicide. In Victoria alone, 184 suicides over an eight-year period have been linked to gambling harm.
University of Sydney Professor Sally Gainsbury said failing to invest in prevention would undermine the effectiveness of any regulatory reform touted by the Federal Government.
“Australia needs a strong, evidence-based national youth gambling prevention program at scale, which can help change behaviours at this critical developmental stage before serious harms arise,” she said.
“Every dollar spent preventing gambling harm saves many more in crisis services, mental health care, income support and lost productivity down the track.”
OurFutures Institute has submitted a budget proposal seeking $20 million over four years to develop and deliver a national, digitally delivered gambling prevention program for young people aged 15 to 20. The program would be delivered through secondary schools, TAFEs, universities and sports clubs, reaching young people at critical transition points when gambling behaviour accelerates.
The proposal directly responds to the Murphy report You win some, you lose more, which recommended the development of a national, evidence-based gambling prevention program for young people.
Mr Wallace said the government’s crackdown on vaping showed that reducing supply and investing in prevention at scale was capable of large impact.
“The evidence-based Vaping Prevention Program developed by experts from The Matilda Centre at the University of Sydney, was proven to cut the likelihood of vaping among students by 65 per cent after 12 months,” he said.
“We reached more than 1,000 schools within six months of launching the program and now a third of high schools nationally are using the program. This complemented the crackdown on supply chains and illegal importers with success.
“Gambling deserves the same seriousness and the same speed of response.”
The proposed program would be rigorously evaluated, co-designed with young people and educators, and developed in partnership with leading researchers at the University of Sydney.
Mr Wallace said prevention was the smartest and most fiscally responsible investment governments could make.
“This is about giving young people a fair chance to make informed decisions before harm takes hold. If we want a different outcome for the next generation, we need to start earlier, not later.”
National Radio
Mr Wallace spoke on ABC Radio National Breakfast, calling for urgent federal funding to address the growing youth gambling crisis. Wallace highlighted alarming trends showing increasing gambling participation among teenagers and warned of the long-term harms facing young Australians without early intervention. He emphasised the need for evidence-based, preventative education programs to stop gambling harm before it starts and urged government action to protect the wellbeing of future generations.
You can listen to the interview here.
National Budget Submission
OurFutures Institute is urging urgent federal action to tackle the growing youth gambling crisis. To end gambling harm before it starts, we’ve outlined bold, evidence-based recommendations in our Federal Budget Submission. Read the full submission and support meaningful prevention policy now: https://ourfuturesinstitute.org.au/federal-budget-submission-gambling-prevention/
