21st September, 2006
The net takings of casinos and other gaming businesses in Australia reached $15.5 billion in the 2004-05 year, equating to an expenditure of $996 per adult.

The figures, which were published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week, represent an increase of almost three per cent a year since 2000-01 when net takings totalled $13.8 billion.

Poker and gaming machines in hospitality and sporting clubs, pubs, taverns and bars accounted for 56.3 per cent of total net takings from gambling while other major sources included casinos (16.7 per cent), off-course TABs (13.4 per cent) and lotteries, lotto style games and football pools (9.3 per cent).

Among the states, New South Wales contributed $6.2 billion (or 40.1 per cent) of the net takings total followed by Victoria with $4.4 billion (or 28.4 per cent), Queensland (16.5 per cent), South Australia (5.6 per cent) and Western Australia (4.8 per cent).

In New South Wales, the figures equated to every adult spending $1,196 for the year on gambling. In Victoria the figure was $1,134 while the Northern Territory had the third highest per head expenditure at $1,250 per adult.

Western Australia - which has no poker or gaming machines outside of the casino - had the lowest per head expenditure on gambling at $490 per adult.

- DAVID ADAMS