Australia's Gambling Industries - Productivity Commission

• to estimate the income lost over the period of unemployment —average weekly
earnings of $743;
• job search costs for the employee of $2357;
• staff replacement costs of $3862 for the employer (10 per cent of annual average
earnings);
• average benefits of $1482 per person from government for half the people who
change jobs, (being 9 weeks of payment for half the people who change jobs, at a
Newstart and rent assistance payment of $402 per fortnight)
In this area, the Commission has not estimated a lower and higher cost estimate.
Unlike other areas where the available information provided a basis for estimating a
range of costs, this was not the case for job change. In summary, the Commission
has estimated that job change as a result of gambling has, in each year:
• cost gamblers $24 million in lost income;
• involved $13 million in job search costs;
• cost employers $22 million in staff replacement costs; and
• transferred $4 million from taxpayers to those changing jobs via job start and
related payments.
Crime and legal costs
The National Gambling Survey asked a number of questions on the extent of illegal
activities undertaken by gamblers as a result of their gambling activities. Based on
their responses, it is estimated that Australia wide, 13 600 had bounced cheques
deliberately, while 9700 committed other crime relating to their gambling activities.
In total, an estimated 20 900 people are estimated to have committed some form of
gambling related crime in the last year.
As with bad debts, the value of money or goods stolen is a transfer within society,
rather than a net cost. The real cost of crime is the effort that society must take to
protect property together with the costs of the criminal justice system.
The Commission has made an estimate of the value of the money and goods stolen
as a result of gambling-related crime — a measure of the transfers — as well as
estimates of some of the net costs to society in the form of police incidents, court
appearances and jail terms as a result of gambling related crime.
J.18 GAMBLING