This article is featured in The Daily Telegraph and is republished with permission.
On any given day, scroll through TikTok or Instagram and you’ll find young men in their early twenties, sitting at pokie machines with phones recording, flashing stacks of cash.
“Alright boys, $2,000 on the pokies, $50 slaps, let’s make some f**king money,” influencers Degeneratebro and Dicey Ninja declare in an Instagram video with almost 300,000 views.
By the end of the video, the pair, who have almost 100,000 followers between them, walk away with just over $7,400.
“It’s gonna be a big f**king night. $7.4k in the balance – that’s how you f**king do it!” Degeneratebro says before suggesting they gamble it again.
They are part of a new wave of Australian influencers racking up millions of views across pokies, casino games and sports betting with young men making up the bulk of their audience.
Among them is Luca Kante, who has become one of the country’s most followed and controversial gambling influencers, with over 264,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.
Known for his catchphrase “come on cuz,” he posts videos of himself winning and losing thousands at pokies, content that generates hundreds of thousands of views.
“I love to say to people to live through my videos, take my videos as an example of how the pokies actually work,” he recently told news.com.au.
“People think I’ve got some special machine, people come up and go, ‘How do you win all the time?’ [when I just] lost six times in a row. I try to keep it pretty transparent.”
While influencers may not explicitly encourage their followers to gamble, their content rarely warns of the risks or links to support services, unlike traditional advertising which must include mandatory warnings.
Australian Psychological Society Immediate Past President Dr. Sara Quinn said this type of content glamorises gambling as a social activity and easy way to make money, with young men particularly vulnerable to these messages.
“We know that men are more than twice as likely to have a gambling problem compared to women and young men aged between 18 to 24 years are most at risk,” she said.
“And even though it’s illegal, about 30 per cent of young people under the age of 18 gamble in any given year.”
She said exposure to gambling content influences “attitudes and perceptions” of gambling, especially in young people, causing them to “think more positively” about gambling and increase their likelihood of gambling.
“It normalises it and if you see people who you like doing it then you’re more likely going to do the same thing,” she said.
Dr Quinn said teenagers and young adults’ brains make them easy targets as their cognitive reasoning isn’t fully developed.
“Their brains aren’t wired in a way that can understand the impacts of their decision making.”
Former Australian Federal Police executive officer Gary Fahey knows first-hand how devastating gambling addiction can be.
He spent 18 years with the force, rising to senior roles including running the Prime Minister’s security detail.
During that time, he was silently battling a gambling addiction that cost him $2 million.
His career ended in 2017 when he was caught using his corporate credit card to misuse $47,000 from the agency.
“I was battling a major depressive disorder and a gambling addiction that cost me $2 million. It cost me my career, my reputation and had me seriously considering the value of my own life,” he said.
As a crisis intervention expert, he now helps others struggling with gambling addiction and has seen people lose their homes to online casinos and wipe out their superannuation on risky crypto bets.
But gambling isn’t about money, it’s about escape, he said.
“People gamble not because they want to win, but because they can’t cope with losing control in other areas of their lives.”
In July, the Australian Communications and Media Authority warned influencers could be fined up to $59,400 if they promoted illegal gambling services, including live streaming pokies and directing followers to unlicensed sites.
Those who facilitate access to illegal online gambling services like giving hyperlinks face even greater penalties up to $2,475,000.
“Anything that we can do to limit the glorification of gambling products in particular to young people and young men would be beneficial,” Mr Fahey said.
Going a step further, Dr Quinn called for a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling.
“It would be an appropriate harm minimisation strategy that will reduce exposure of those vulnerable groups to online ads including children, adolescents and young people more generally,” she said.
For support, contact:
Lifeline – 13 11 14
Gambling Help Online – 1800 858 858
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36