Preference for online gambling impacts Australian industry

A new study of the Australian gambling market by IBISWorld shows that online gambling may be impacting the growth rate of traditional betting on sports and racing.

Revenue growth in Australia’s horse and retail sports betting industry in the five years through to 2014-2015 has been at a compound average annual rate of 2 percent, reaching $3.6 billion, indicating that growth in these sectors is slowing.

The study attributes some of that slowdown to the growing popularity of online casino gambling and electronic gaming machines, which have been claiming more of the punter’s discretionary incomes, IBIS notes.

That said, sports betting may be relatively small, but it remains the fastest growing vertical in the Australian industry.

IBISWorld analyst Spencer Little said in a statement reporting on the new study that the growth in sports betting has been at the expense of on-course totalisators at horse races.

“Consolidation has also occurred over the past five years, as several larger companies have increased revenue and market share concentration through the acquisition of smaller betting firms,” he said.

Little opined that the Australian industry will continue to grow over the next five years, but he predicted that traditional TAB outlets are likely to encounter significant competition as a result of the popularity, accessibility and user-friendliness of online and smartphone betting services.

He said that he expected revenue generated from wagers placed on horse and harness races would also continue to sink as betting on sporting matches gains further ground and is heavily promoted.

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