Online Poker Still Growing In Australia, Report Suggests

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Online poker spending continuing to grow in Australia

Australian poker fans appear to be deserting the slot machines in favour of online poker platforms, new figures suggest.

The Roy Morgan Gambling Monitor, cited by onlinepoker.net, revealed that total gambling spend in Australia grew to $17 billion last year from $12.4 billion in 2010 and $11.7 billion in 2009.

And it would appear that poker slot machines are becoming less popular, leaving more people to head online for their game time.

Researcher Jane Ianniello is quoted by the news provider as saying that growth of online poker is not counteracting the decline of poker machine use.

"Playing the pokies is becoming less popular, and with a decline in the incidence of alcohol consumption there are less Australians patronising venues like licensed clubs," she explained.

"The growth of online gambling, especially sports betting, has not been big enough to counter this large decline in poker machine expenditure."

Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that Australian poker players are being given lessons on poker lingo to help improve their game.