How state-by-state gambling participation differs across Australia

In January 2025, 58.8% of Australian adults said they had gambled in the previous 12 months, according to ANU POLIS research. That tells you straight away that gambling sits inside everyday leisure for a large share of the country, but the national figure is only the starting point. For those playing online, platforms like Vegastars casino online are part of this picture, sitting alongside the lotteries, EGMs and race betting that shape how Australians gamble day to day.

The detail underneath is where things get interesting. ANU POLIS found that lotteries were the most common gambling activity in 2025 at 41.3% of adults, followed by scratch tickets at 19.4%, electronic gaming machines at 14.6% and race betting at 12.6%. So when you look at state-by-state participation, you get a better read by focusing on what people tend to choose, how often they play and whether that habit lives in a venue, on a phone, or around a big sporting moment.

Same country with a different game

The clearest recent national snapshot comes from the January 2025 ANUpoll, which surveyed 3,387 adults and weighted responses to population benchmarks. That gives you a reliable base for understanding how Australians participate before you start thinking about how one state may lean differently from another.

Here’s the product mix ANU recorded for 2025:

• Lotteries: 41.3% of adults
• Scratch tickets: 19.4%
• Electronic gaming machines: 14.6%
• Race betting: 12.6%

Those aren’t just separate categories on a chart. They point to different habits, different settings and different ways gambling becomes part of ordinary life across Australia.

Lotteries and scratch tickets tend to sit closer to casual participation because they’re simple, familiar and easy to fold into a routine. EGMs and race betting suggest something more specific, either venue-based play or a stronger link to racing culture. That means two states can both have active gambling participation while feeling very different on the ground.

That’s a useful way to think about this. State differences are often easier to understand through preference than through a single national-style ranking, because Australians are not all entering the same gambling channel in the same way.

Where sport meets habit

If you follow Australian sport, you’ll know betting has a strong presence around fixtures, codes and major events. ANU POLIS data show that sports betting is the most online-oriented gambling category, with 88.5% of sports bettors gambling online at least half the time in 2025.

Race betting sits in a similar lane, with 76.9% of race bettors gambling online at least half the time. Lotteries were lower at 51.1%, which helps separate casual draw-based participation from event-led betting that often happens in the moment.

That distinction helps explain why some states can feel more betting-focused during busy periods on the sporting calendar. If local interest is pulled toward racing, footy, or combat sports, participation becomes more visible because it’s tied to events people are already watching, talking about, and checking on during the day. Vegastars, which carries a large library of pokies, live tables and sports-adjacent games, is one example of how that online demand gets met across the country.

Visibility can fool you.

The format that dominates conversation on a Saturday afternoon is not always the format most Australians use overall. Nationally, lotteries still sit well ahead of sports betting in reach, which is a handy reminder that broad participation and loud participation are not the same thing.

That makes the state story more detailed, in a good way. One place may feel more venue-led, another more racing-led, and another more shaped by casual lottery spending around major draws. If you only look at betting chatter, you miss that wider pattern.

Clicks, counters and changing routines

The biggest change in recent years is convenience. In 2025, 56.1% of people who gambled did so online at least half the time, according to ANU POLIS. The phone is now a serious part of the story, whether someone is backing a team, following the races, or buying into a draw.

That helps explain why state differences may feel less tied to geography alone than they once did. Venue access still counts, and local traditions still count, but digital habits now sit right alongside them. The data consistently points to a sustained migration toward mobile and browser-based play.

The national trend line reinforces that point. Overall participation moved from 65.6% in 2019 to 60.3% in 2024 and then 58.8% in 2025. Australia is not moving as one single mass of gamblers doing more of everything every year. What the data suggest is a more selective pattern, where product choice and convenience tell you more than a headline total on its own.

ANU’s 2025 profile data add another layer. Men recorded higher overall participation than women, 63.7% compared with 55.4%, while online participation was above average among men at 37.5% and among people aged 35 to 44 at 38.6%. Any state-by-state difference is likely to reflect local mixes of age, work, sport interest and preferred format as much as postcode.

If the screen has become one of the main places Australians gamble, the more revealing question is not which state gambles most, but which state prefers which kind of play.

Different states with a shared story

The strongest recent evidence points to a simple idea. Gambling participation across Australia is widespread, but the country is far from uniform in how that participation takes shape.

ANU POLIS gives you the clearest guideposts: 58.8% of adults gambled in the previous year in January 2025; lotteries were the biggest single format at 41.3%; sports betting and race betting were strongly online; and more than half of gamblers used online channels at least half the time. Put those pieces together and the state-by-state picture becomes more readable.

You can start to see each state as a mix of habits. Some will lean more toward venue culture, some toward racing, some toward casual lottery participation, and some toward phone-led betting wrapped around live sport. Where an online casino like Vegastars fits in depends largely on the player, given its mix of pokies, live tables and fast payouts appeals to the same demographic that already gravitates toward digital play.

That is a better lens to use going forward. It keeps the focus on how Australians choose to spend leisure time, how local routines shape participation, and how digital access is changing the feel of gambling across the country.

Gambling advisory notice: Gamble responsibly. Online casino gaming should be approached as paid entertainment, not a way to make money. Set limits, take breaks, and only play where it is legal for you to do so.