The gambling environment and gambling problems in Western Australia

In Australia, Western Australia (WA) provides a distinctive regulatory setting in which electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are restricted to a single casino, while lotteries operate under public monopoly.</p> <p>Using nationally representative self-report data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (2015–2018; 29,517 respondents), we compared gambling participation, expenditure and problems (PGSI scores) in WA with the rest of Australia.</p> <p>WA residents were 76% less likely to gamble on EGMs (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.18–0.32) and more than twice as likely to use lotteries (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.86–2.30).

Overall gambling participation was higher in WA, but total expenditure recorded in HILDA was similar across jurisdictions. However, average PGSI scores were lower in WA (–0.26, <i>p</i> < 0.01), consistent with differences in overall environmental product mix, rather than within-product differences in gambling problems. PGSI scores among people using EGMs and lotteries did not differ by jurisdiction.</p> <p>These findings indicate that WA’s regulatory settings are associated with a distinctive gambling environment characterized by lower engagement with high-risk EGMs, and greater engagement with lower-risk lotteries.