Regulation of Gambling
Q. For each of the following forms of gambling, which do you think need more or less regulation?
Needs more regulation | Needs less regulation | Current regulation is about right | Don’t know | Needs more regulation 27 Apr 11 | ||
Online gambling in general | 67% | 4% | 17% | 12% | 68% | |
Poker machines | 52% | 5% | 35% | 8% | 62% | |
Casinos | 47% | 4% | 40% | 9% | 53% | |
Betting on sport e.g. football, cricket | 52% | 4% | 34% | 10% | 46% | |
Betting on horse racing | 35% | 5% | 51% | 9% | 37% | |
Lotto | 15% | 6% | 70% | 9% | 20% |
More than half the respondents think there needs to be more regulation of online gambling (67%), poker machines (52%) and betting on sport (52%).
Support for more regulation of poker machines has dropped 10% since this question was last asked in April.
By vote, 67% of Greens voters, 61% of Labor voters and 43% of Liberal/National voters support more regulation of poker machines. 44% of Liberal/National voters think current regulation is about right, compared to 28% of Labor voters and 25% of Greens voters. There are no substantial differences by age, gender or income.
Regulation of Gambling
Q. For each of the following forms of gambling, which do you think need more or less regulation?
Needs more regulation | Needs less regulation | Current regulation is about right | Don’t know | |
Online gambling in general | 68% | 4% | 16% | 12% |
Poker machines | 62% | 5% | 24% | 9% |
Casinos | 53% | 4% | 32% | 11% |
Betting on sport e.g. football, cricket | 46% | 4% | 36% | 14% |
Betting on horse racing | 37% | 4% | 47% | 13% |
Lotto | 20% | 4% | 65% | 11% |
About two thirds of respondents think there should be more regulation of online gambling (68%) and poker machines (62%). 53% think that casinos need more regulation.
Differences by voting intention were –
- Liberal/National voters were less likely to favour more regulation of casinos (47%) and poker machines (55%)
- More regulation of poker machines was more strongly favoured by Greens (74%) and Labor (65%) voters.

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