Canberra, Jul 30 (IANS): The number of Australians who gamble at risky levels is on the rise, new data has shown.

The new report, which was published by the Center for Gambling Research at the Australian National University (ANU) on Monday, found that more Australians have taken up online gambling, Xinhua news agency reported.

It revealed that 60.3 per cent of Australian adults had gambled in some form in the 12 months to January 2024 — down slightly from 61.3 per cent in 2023.

However, the proportion of the adult population who gamble at risky levels spiked from 11.6 per cent in 2023 to 13.6 per cent in 2024.

“This means a larger proportion of individuals who gamble are experiencing harm,” Aino Suomi, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Gambling Research, said in a media release.

Buying lottery tickets remained the most popular form of gambling in the 12-month period to January 2024, with 46.8 per cent of the adult population having done so.

Over one-third of adults — 33.4 per cent — gambled online in the same period.

Suomi said online gambling rates have increased exponentially, making it one of the main gambling platforms for Australians.

“The unlimited access to online gambling has the potential to cause real harm if not properly addressed,” she said.

A separate report also published by the Center for Gambling Research on Monday found that 1.2 million Australians — or more than 5 per cent of the adult population — had been personally affected by someone else’s gambling in the last 12 months.

People who were affected by another’s gambling tended to be younger, earning a lower income, experiencing problems related to their gambling and dealing with psychological distress, Suomi said.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australians lose approximately 25 billion Australian dollars ( $16.4 billion) on legal forms of gambling every year, representing the largest per capita losses in the world.