Aussies are a very special kind of people. In fact the entire continent is a very special kind of continent. They say what doesn’t kill you probably doesn’t live in Australia, referring to all the dangerous and venomous animals that live there. In fact, everything Down Under is out to kill you! Except for the Aussie mates; they are very friendly and fond of hanging out with people. They love cooking snags on the BBQ while watching footy, football or cricket, swimming, surfing, the beach, and they love the outback… Actually, one of the most stereotypical notions that Aussies love the outback is a misconception. Although they love the active lifestyle, many of them haven’t even been to the outback, just like many Parisians have never been to the Eiffel Tower. Why? Because it is there, so why bother?
According to numerous surveys football and footy (Aussie way of playing rugby) are not the most popular sports among Aussies. The correct answer is cricket. Australians are very fond of watching and playing cricket. Currently the Australian national cricket team is the world champion and has made many World Cup records. But, besides watching and playing, they love betting on cricket. In fact, Aussies love gambling of every description. They love playing pokies, card and table games like blackjack and roulette, they love scratchies, lotteries and most of all sports betting.
It is estimated that in 2010 alone around 70% of Aussies have participated in any form of gambling. Even though pokies are becoming ubiquitous across Australian pubs, most of this percentage pertains to online gambling and especially mobile gambling.
Mobile gambling is something that fits perfectly with the modern lifestyle of Australians, especially to those that have to commute everyday to their work places. The cities in Australia are enormously wide and commuting consumes a lot of time, so mobile gambling is becoming the primary gambling method for Aussies. With the 4G rollout the technology barriers are practically non-existent. They can play their favourite pokies anywhere and anytime they want or bet on their favourite sport. It is not uncommon to see people checking odds, watch live streams or even place a bet online via their smartphones or tablets on the streets, in the train, in pubs or in their vehicles.
Australians are not prohibited to gamble online. There are some restrictions that were imposed with the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001, but these were aimed mostly at gambling operators in Australia, and not the gamblers themselves. The government is mostly concerned with rooting out illegal gambling operations and with taxation. The effects of this law on Aussie gamblers are minimal, and in reality they can do whatever they want with their money. And even though casinos and poker sites are not regulated as online bookmakers are, these too are huge in Australia.
Anyway, the Australian gambling operators have adopted mobile betting at a rapid rate. They have even gone very creative in advertising and promoting their mobile betting products and have put a large emphasis on mobile betting. They are aware that Aussies like convenience, and that convenience is enabled with their mobile platforms.
Betting has been a big part of the culture down under and mobile betting is slowly carving out its own niche. It becomes the primary form of gambling since desktops and laptops don’t fit into the idea of gambling anywhere you are and anytime you want. Gambling operators are aware of this and tend to advertise their mobile betting products using images of mates chatting and betting on their mobiles.
Luxbet and Sportingbet are one of the more prominent licensed bookmakers that are pushing their mobile platforms the hardest. Other gambling operators that are fairly popular among Aussies in terms of mobile casino gambling can be found at CasinoShortlist http://www.casinoshortlist.org/mobile/.
Next time you meet an Aussie mate it is most probable that he will be one of those 70% that have gambled at least once in the previous year and you will be able share with him your gambling experience and talk about your gambling skills. He will probably love that more than talking about kangaroos and koalas.