Oz sports betting faces crackdown calls amidst problem gambling horror stories

Australia’s sports betting industry may face calls for a crackdown after a report from Financial Counsellors Australia revealed horror stories about problem gambling, local media reported.

Lauren Levin, from the FCA, said gambling addiction was leading to suicides. Other stories included a man who lost the proceeds of a house sale and another who lost $90,000 in a week.

Levin was cited as calling for the end of lines of credit for sports gambling and the introduction of a self-exclusion register to ease the damage of online sports betting addiction.

Another problem gambler — who accrued debts of $860,000 — made 127 bets in one day.

In separate research, the Australian National University’s Centre for Gambling Research found that at least 1110 Canberrans are losing more than $10,000 a year on gambling, most of it on poker machines.

Another 21,000 adults are losing between $1000 and $10,000, representing about 8 percent of the adult population.

The report said that the figures were self-reported and would significantly under-estimate the amount actually spent.