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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Amy Remeikis Political reporter

Call for action to address gambling harm as report finds Australians lose average of $1,600 a year

Poker machines Queensland
The Grattan Institute has called for a ban on gambling ads and a mandatory pre-commitment loss limit for online gambling and poker machines. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Australians lose almost twice as much from gambling as people in the US, and poker machines – the biggest single source of losses – are more common in the nation’s suburbs than public toilets, ATMs and post boxes, a new report has found.

The Grattan Institute report – A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm – concludes that to limit the damage from gambling, the government needs to not only ban gambling ads but introduce a mandatory pre-commitment loss limit for online gambling and poker machines.

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