The chief executive of the charity Wesley Mission, Rev Stu Cameron, has also assessed the latest NSW data. “The more prevailing reason for this is people under stress are more likely to develop a gambling habit as it relieves their stress and that’s the same reason why there are so many poker machines in areas of disadvantage.” “Desperate people often turn to desperate measures and some people unfortunately think they have an opportunity to win something,” Livingstone said. Monash University associate professor Charles Livingstone said he wasn’t surprised gambling losses had increased during a cost-of-living crisis because “people gamble when they are desperate”. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup But in South Australia, losses jumped by 34% to $917m. In Victoria, losses increased by 12% to $3bn. The increase was sharper in Queensland, where residents lost $3.24bn last financial year compared to $2.42bn in 2018-19 – an increase of more than 33%.
