In a suburban pub on the outskirts of Sydney men and women are gathered around the pokies, patient and oblivious to everything other than the spinning graphics and the beer resting on the console.
In a corner 20-year-old student Jack* is making a video for his gambling social-media page. He taps a red button and holds up his phone to film it, as the machine erupts in a convulsion of noise and light.
“We were seeing other influencers on social media and thought, ‘What if we somehow blow up?’,” Jack says. “I wanted to capture and share that fun like other influencers.
“Everyone’s doing it, why shouldn’t we?”
Filming content, he adds, became a habit each time he went to the pub, and he would record himself and his friends gambling various amounts of money, and uploading only the wins to social media.
Jack says his viewers enjoy his content for the “dopamine rush without the risk,” but experts argue there isn’t enough regulation on social media to dispel that lure of gambling to young audiences.
One of these experts, Dr Charles Livingstone, associate professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, says gambling content on social media must be regulated to avoid introducing these habits to young people.
“The government needs to take a stand and ban all gambling promotions on social media, full stop,” he says. “If platforms continue to allow it, they should be fined, along with the content creators.”
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has taken early steps to introduce warnings on gambling content, and bought in fines for social media influencers of up to $59,400.
But ACMA doesn’t have the ability to ban social media accounts.
And, while social media companies such as Meta outline in their company policy that gambling content and advertisements are alright as long as they “don’t target people under 18”, age restrictions can easily be bypassed.
Two young men sit side-by-side, lit by the glow of poker machines. Photo: Roman de Vallance.
A report released by UNICEF Australia in 2025, found 36 per cent of young people provided a false birth date to verify their age online to get around age-restricted internet services.
While traditional gambling ads are regulated on TV with disclaimers, content published on social media escapes scrutiny, leaving influencers to do as they please.
Studies show that gambling habits in teenage years, persist into adulthood, with data from the Australian Institute revealing that gambling amongst 12-17 year olds (30 per cent) shot up by the time they reached 18-19 years of age (47 per cent).
“The government claims to care about young people’s safety on social media, they’re even considering banning access for those under 16, so why let this content through?” Livingstone asks.
“Their videos often hit children as young as 14 or 15. They know young people are more susceptible, especially young men, who tend to overestimate their betting skills, particularly with sports betting.
“Telling vulnerable young people that gambling is fun and profitable is simply untrue and dangerous.”
A half-full beer glass rests on a poker machine console. Photo: Roman de Vallance
But Jack maintains influencers like him don’t share content with the intention of making young people start gambling.
“It’s not meant to encourage gambling. I’ve posted a handful of videos, and one of those was a loss because I think it’s important to show both sides,” he adds. “It’s not all highs.
“It’s more just a social thing, it should be treated that way.”
Livingstone says gambling regulators have missed the mark with social media content.
“In Australia, it’s actually illegal in all states and territories to promote poker machine gambling,” he says. “So it’s unclear why regulators aren’t acting.
“Perhaps it’s difficult to track down and prosecute these influencers. But social media platforms themselves shouldn’t be allowing this content.
“They claim to follow local laws, but enforcement seems non-existent.”
Although ACMA declined to comment to Central News, a statement on its website issues a stark warning to gambling influencers.
“Young Australians who are active online can be more vulnerable,” it says. “You may be putting people that follow you at real risk of harm.”
* Not his real name.
Main image of ‘Jack’ filming content for his gambling social media page. Photo: Roman de Vallance.
