Implicit finance in gambling expenditures: Australian evidence on socioeconomic and demographic tax incidence

This article examines two issues. First, it evaluates the statistical signi ficance of a number of socioeconomic and demographic variables on the level of gambling-type expenditures in New South Wales, Australia. Factors analy zed include household income, family composition, welfare status, gender, a ge, occupation, and ethnicity. Second, the study examines the incidence of gambling-type expenditures, and hence taxation, on New South Wales' househo lds. The study confirms similar findings overseas on the income regressivit y of gambling expenditures. All other things being equal, Lotto and Instant Lotto are the most regressive of the major gambling products in their inci dence on Australian households, and they are certainly more regressive than comparable NorthAmerican instruments.