Public opinion towards gambling and gambling regulation in Australia

Abstract

In recent years, public opinion towards gambling has become a more important factor in shaping public policy. Using a national public opinion survey conducted in Australia in 2011, this paper examines public opinion towards gambling in general and towards the government regulation of gambling in particular. Australia is an important case study because of the internationally high prevalence of gambling among the public, combined with a strong regulatory framework. Public opinion is measured by a reduced form of a scale first developed in Britain. The results confirm the generally negative views that the public holds towards gambling, which have been found internationally. In addition, the Australian public is open to the introduction of further restrictions on gambling. Overall, the public views the liberalization of gambling as having moved as far as most citizens find acceptable; to meet public expectations, future policies need to address more adequately the negative social consequences associated with problem gambling.

Keywords::

• gambling
• public opinion
• electronic gaming machines
• regulation

Acknowledgements

My thanks to six anonymous reviewers from this journal for their constructive and helpful suggestions.

Notes

^1. The 2011 ANU survey on gambling was conducted by Ian McAllister, Jonathan Mond and Tanya Davidson and the data is available from the Australian Data Archives at http://ada.anu.edu.au.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ian McAllister

Ian McAllister is a Professor of Political Science at The Australian National University. His most recent books are (co-author) Conflict to Peace: Society and Politics in Northern Ireland Over Half a Century (Manchester University Press, 2013) and The Australian Voter: Fifty Years of Change (University of New South Wales Press, 2011). He has been the director of the Australian Election Study survey since 1987 and the principal investigator of the ANUpoll survey, on which this article is based, since its inception in 2007.