Australians aged 40 and under make up the bulk of the more than 18,000 people who have signed up to the Albanese Government’s gambling exclusion register in its first six months. Source: ABC News.
The register, known as BetStop, came into force in August last year and allows people struggling with gambling addiction to enrol to block themselves from online services.
The minimum exclusion period for making bets or opening accounts is three months, and the federal Government says more than 16,000 people have remained on the register after that period.
More than a third of those who have signed up have elected to do so for the rest of their lives.
“I think it has exceeded expectations,” Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.
“This is an incredible take-up, and shows that many people have welcomed the opportunity to have this intervention.
“To see people embrace BetStop and continue to use it for not just the minimum period, but for a much longer period of time, is very encouraging.”
Ms Rishworth said the strong response from Australians aged under 40 was expected when the register was being developed.
“We do know that online gambling is quite popular with younger participants, particularly younger males,” she said.
“I think it is really reassuring that younger people are not ignoring the potential problems and financial hardship that online betting can have, and they are embracing this.”
The Government said there have been more than 8 billion real-time checks against the register by online gambling services, which are required to cross reference account requests with BetStop.
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