Australians accessing the national self-exclusion register BetStop since launch has surpassed 30,000, but the rate of sign-ups has slowed by around 13 per cent compared to last quarter.
The Australian Media and Communications Authority released its quarterly BetStop numbers, with a further 4521 people signing up for national self-exclusion from July through September.
That is 533 fewer than those who signed up during the previous three-month period and nearly 3000 fewer than those who signed up during the same period last year when BetStop launched.
Overall, there have been 30,493 sign-ups since August 2023, however, only 23,182 remain active, with 7000 letting their bans lapse.
Of those who have signed up, 16.7 per cent have opted for bans for three months, 39.6 per cent from three months to two years, 3.6 per cent from two to five years and 1.3 per cent for a determined period of longer than five years.
A total of 11,839 Australians have opted for a lifetime ban, preventing them from ever betting with a registered wagering provider in Australia again.
ACMA acknowledged earlier this year that several users had discovered loopholes to get around the self-exclusion.
Of those who have opted to self-exclude, 49.2 per cent are 30 years or younger. For reference, the percentage of Australians aged 30 years or younger is 37.6 per cent.
Australia’s five most populous states, NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, all saw the number of BetStop registrants drop compared to the previous quarter, with South Australia down by 36 per cent.
However, the number of quarterly sign-ups to BetStop grew in Tasmania (from 102 to 114), the ACT (from 58 to 91), and the Northern Territory (from 33 to 41).
Tasmania continues to have the highest number of BetStop registrations per person, with one in every 770 people registered, compared to the national average of one in 889. Northern Territory has the fewest per person, with one in every 1110.
NSW, Australia’s biggest state in terms of population, had 1482 (1589 last quarter) new BetStop registrations in the most recent quarter, while Victoria had 1173 (1321). Queensland added 904 (1083), WA 457 (539) and South Australia (353).
