Gambling is the national sport of Australia. The major gambling event, off-line and online, is the Melbourne Cup. This is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. Billed as ‘The Race That Stops a Nation’, it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 meters. It is the richest and most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races in the world. The event is held at 3 pm on the first Tuesday in November by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. And the betting money flows like water!

Then there are the “pokeys”, what we know as slot machines. They are everywhere. One can drop into a Pokey-Shop and play the slots, but for real money, of course. There are proper land-based casinos which are well-patronized. Then there are the cruise ships, the horse-tracks and the dog-tracks. If it’s gambling, Australia has it. Of course it also has online gambling, in a big way. All the major online casinos are available as they are anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection.

The Sydney scenery is beautiful and I was driven around the city to admire and enjoy it. On a recent drive along the cliff-tops of the eastern suburbs I was shown “the Gap”, a huge crack in a very high cliff with water and rocks hundreds of feet below. “Favorite jumping-off point for unsuccessful online gamblers,” I was told. Then I heard the story of one young man who lost his considerable fortune gambling online. He gambled online, won and lost and then lost more than he won. He switched games and tried his hand at sports-betting online, wagering on cricket, rugby, soccer and anything that was available for betting on.

All to no good. In the end, he jumped to avoid the explanations or to solve the problem, except that he solved nothing – he left behind major problems. Online gambling is for entertainment and fun at home – it is not for making money.
According to the Australian Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Australia's Gambling Industries (1999), around 293,000 Australians have a significant gambling problem. If you are an online gambler and you are losing, shut down the computer and walk away. Whatever you do, do not chase after your losses – that’s the quickest way to losing it all.

Posted on: September 23, 2009

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