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8501.0.55.003 - Contribution of Gambling to Retail Estimates, Jun 2006  
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/08/2006   
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      Review of gambling data from Retail Trade Survey

      We are currently reviewing the purpose and usefulness of the gambling data from the Retail Trade Survey. Based on input from users, we may decide to amend or even discontinue the series. If you wish to provide input into the future of the Gambling series, please visit our Theme Pages



NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER) Release Date
September 2006 17 November 2006



INTRODUCTION

This quarterly article supplements information presented in the publication, Retail Trade, Australia (cat. no. 8501.0). It presents information about the net proceeds received from licensed gambling activities undertaken by businesses classified to 'Hotels and licensed clubs'. Gambling revenue from businesses classified to 'Casinos, Lotteries or Gambling Services n.e.c.' is not included as these businesses are not in the scope of the Retail Trade survey. Commissions from Lotto and lottery tickets sold in the Newspaper, Book and Stationery retailing industry are also excluded as they are not separately reported in the survey.


Businesses in the 'Hotels and licensed clubs' industry included in the Retail Trade Survey are asked to report three turnover components which sum to total turnover. The three components of turnover reported are:

  • Membership fees and subscriptions received
  • Net proceeds received from licensed gambling activities (hereafter called Gambling)
  • General turnover (e.g. takings from bar and bottle shop sales, meals and accommodation and hiring and booking fees).

Gambling net proceeds in Hotels and Licensed clubs includes:
  • commission from TAB and Keno transactions
  • net takings from Bingo
  • net revenue received from poker machines and other electronic gaming machines. Net revenue means the amount remaining after payouts and government gambling taxes are removed or commission earned.

The three components of turnover have primarily been used to assist Hotels and Licensed Clubs to correctly report total turnover. As such, they are not subject to the same level of scrutiny as the estimates of total turnover.


For further background about the Gambling series, please refer to the feature article in the December 2002 issue of Retail Trade, Australia.


This gambling article is released quarterly on the ABS Web Site about a week after the release of the March, June, September and December issues of Retail Trade, Australia.



INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.



SUMMARY COMMENTARY


FINDINGS

Table 1 shows that gambling increased as a proportion of turnover for both Hotels and licensed clubs and Total retail in the period between June quarter 2004 to June quarter 2005. For June 2006, there was a decrease in gambling as a percentage of Hotels and licensed clubs and Total retail turnover, returning to the level of June 2004.

1. GAMBLING AS A PROPORTION OF HOTELS AND LICENSED CLUBS AND TOTAL RETAIL, AUSTRALIA, Seasonally Adjusted
Hotels and licensed clubs
Total retail
Quarter
%
%
2004
June
36.9
3.3
September
37.5
3.3
December
38.2
3.4
2005
March
40.2
3.5
June
40.5
3.7
September
38.9
3.6
December
40.0
3.7
2006
March
38.3
3.6
June
36.9
3.3

Graph 2 compares the growth rates of Gambling, Total retail and Total retail adjusted to exclude gambling. This shows that Total retail and Total retail excluding gambling generally grow at a similar rate. This reflects the low contribution of gambling to Total retail indicated in Table 1.

2. PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN QUARTERLY TURNOVER, Seasonally Adjusted
Graph: 1.2 2. PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN QUARTERLY TURNOVER, Seasonally Adjusted



It can be seen from Table 3 that, for each quarter, the rate of growth can vary between the Gambling, Hotels and licensed clubs and Total retail series. In the June quarter 2006, net proceeds from gambling in Hotels and licensed clubs was $1789.6 million. Over the period from June quarter 2005 to June quarter 2006, the Total retail series grew by 6.0%, Hotels and licensed clubs grew by 4.1% and Gambling fell by 5.3%.

3. GAMBLING IN RETAIL TRADE, AUSTRALIA, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
Gambling
Hotels and licensed clubs
Total Retail
Net proceeds
Percentage change
Turnover
Percentage change
Turnover
Percentage change
Quarter
$m
%
$m
%
$m
%
2004
June
1 612.0
3.2
4 370.5
1.1
49 350.2
0.4
September
1 627.0
0.9
4 343.3
-0.6
50 034.2
1.4
December
1 695.3
4.2
4 443.0
2.3
50 175.5
0.3
2005
March
1 778.1
4.9
4 418.5
-0.6
50 273.6
0.2
June
1 889.2
6.2
4 662.7
5.5
50 773.9
1.0
September
1 840.5
-2.6
4 736.2
1.6
51 545.6
1.5
December
1 928.0
4.8
4 821.0
1.8
51 831.3
0.6
2006
March
1 878.2
-2.6
4 898.4
1.6
52 718.6
1.7
June
1 789.6
-4.7
4 852.8
-0.9
53 821.5
2.1

From Table 4 it can be seen that in June quarter 2006, gambling as a proportion of state turnover is highest in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory and lowest in Western Australia and Tasmania. This needs to be considered in the context of the varying state restrictions on gaming machines. The low contribution of net proceeds from gambling in Western Australia reflects poker machines in that state being restricted only to casinos; and Hotels and licensed clubs in Victoria and Tasmania only receiving a commission or venue share for poker machines located on their premises.

4. CONTRIBUTION OF GAMBLING TO TOTAL TURNOVER, BY STATE, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
Australian Capital Territory
Quarter
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
2004
June
6.3
1.3
2.6
3.3
0.0
0.4
1.1
2.8
September
6.5
1.2
2.3
3.1
0.0
0.4
1.1
2.9
December
6.7
1.5
2.4
2.9
0.0
0.5
1.0
2.6
2005
March
7.0
1.5
2.6
2.9
0.0
0.5
0.6
2.6
June
7.2
1.8
3.0
2.9
0.0
0.5
1.0
2.8
September
6.8
1.8
3.0
2.7
0.0
0.4
1.2
2.8
December
7.0
1.7
3.3
2.9
0.0
0.5
1.4
3.2
2006
March
6.6
1.5
3.6
3.0
0.0
0.5
1.2
3.0
June
6.2
1.3
3.4
2.8
0.0
0.5
1.5
3.4


SAMPLING ERRORS

Standard errors for the level estimate for gambling for Australia (original data) are shown below. The estimated relative standard errors (RSE) for the states vary. The only states where gambling estimates have an RSE below 10% are New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Estimates for the other states have an RSE between 10% and 28% and should be used with caution. The standard error associated with the seasonally adjusted series is approximately the same as for the original estimates.

5. STANDARD ERRORS
Estimate
Standard error
Relative Standard error
Data series
$m
$m
%
Net proceeds from gambling
June quarter 2006
1 775.4
66.6
3.8


FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information about these and related statistics, contact Jeremy Walker on (02) 6252 5451.



RELATED INFORMATION

The ABS produces a more comprehensive range of data on gambling via its service industries program. Detailed surveys of the Pubs, taverns and bars industry, Clubs industry and Casino industry are usually conducted every three years.


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