GAMBLING INSIDER

Australia has seen a 13% year-on-year rise in sports betting expenditure for the 2015-2016 financial year, according to official figures.

The 33rd edition of the Australian Gambling Statistics report, which was released on Tuesday, has shown that the sports betting segment raked a total of $920m, increasing 13% in year-on-year terms.

Moreover, the overall gambling expenditure from casinos, lottery, gaming machines and Keno, among other games, totalled over $18bn.

Meanwhile, casino revenues remained flat for the 2015-16 periods, when Australian casinos only experienced a 0.4% growth to $5.1bn. Despite these financial results, pokies remained one of the most popular activities with more than 196k gaming machines spread across the country, particularly in the states of Queensland and New South Wales. Following an increase in the number of terminals, this vertical showed a 4.2% hike to $12bn.

It is worth noting that these positive results use data from before Crown Resorts' employees were arrested in China under charges of illegally promoting gambling activities in the country. That scandal had a great impact in VIP revenue in Australian casinos for the second half of 2016.