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Photographer: Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg Photographer: Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg

Australians, already the world's biggest gamblers, are hitting a new record in 2015 as the equivalent of A$1,000 ($734) is lost by every man, woman and child Down Under.

In the 12 months through September, Australians frittered away A$24.1 billion on gambling. That's an increase of 6 percent from a year earlier, more than double the expansion of the overall economy, which grew a below-average 2.5 percent over the same period.

Gambling Down Under has long been tolerated as part of the national character -- best summed up in the line that Australians would bet on two flies crawling up a wall. But growth in wagering using foreign-based websites, along with widespread use of slot machines and casinos in each city, is drawing heightened scrutiny.

The government estimates more than 400,000 Australians, mainly men, have gambling problems, out of a total of 23 million people. It commissioned former New South Wales state Premier Barry O’Farrell to investigate the use of offshore-based websites and wants a report this month on what could be done to curtail the negative social impact of new forms of gambling.

Australians are the biggest spenders on gambling, prompting an influx of international agencies to the country's market, according to the latest figures from Global Betting and Gaming Consultants. It reckons the most money spent is not via the internet but through the widespread distribution of slot machines or pokies as they're known in the country.



Australia has the highest number of slot machines per person among developed countries after Italy, according to a 2014 report by Gaming Technologies Association.

``It's just so accessible for Australians,'' said Craig James, a senior economist at the securities unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. ``People don't have to leave their homes. There are all sorts of things people can bet on. They can even bet on interest rates set by the Reserve Bank."