The impact of socio-economic factors on gambling expenditure

This paper examines the socio-economic determinants of gambling expenditure on lotteries, Lotto and Instant Lotto, TAB/on-course betting, poker machines and casino-type games. Using a sample of 8,389 Australian households in 1993-1994, the impact of income source and level, sex, age, ethnicity, occupational status and family composition on the decision to gamble is assessed. The results indicate that these variables exert a significant influence on the probability of households gambling. Furthermore, the effect of these same variables is likely to vary across the large range of gambling products currently available