From horse races to casino tables, Australians spend per capita more of their entertainment budget on gambling than any other nation and, according to Tabcorp, the nation’s 20m people will gamble A$17.9bn (US$13.7bn) in 2006, or A$895 for every man, woman and child, write FT reporters.

Gambling is “a large component of the Australian psyche”, says one analyst, and an ageing population seems to be contributing to the industry’s steady growth. It is probably no coincidence that Queensland, the retirement destination of choice for many city dwellers, is the state that has the fastest growing gambling sector.