As a country, Australians are notorious for having a punt – and Shaun Micallef is investigating why in his new series, Shaun Micallef’s Going For Broke.
Two-up on ANZAC Day is a national tradition, the Melbourne Cup really is ‘the race that stops a nation’ and almost every pub rings to the bells and whistles of greedy poker machines.
Exactly why is a bit of a mystery to Shaun Micallef. He happily admits at the opening of this three-part series that he hasn’t placed a bet in decades – so he’s out to find the truth about the lure of gambling.
And what better place to start than a typical Aussie pub, where a group of mates are sitting around throwing money into a glass that they will next throw at the gambling industry.
“How much are you putting in each?” he asks the young men, who meet once a week to enjoy a few drinks and place a few bets.
“Oh, about $100 each,” they tell him.
“And has anyone ever lost too much? Regretted it the next day?”
Oh yes, they laugh – all of them. But that doesn’t mean they’re about to stop, with money placed on the NRL game they’ve come to watch, plus a few side bets on the horses.
That’s pretty typical, Shaun says, with young men making up nine out of 10 sports betters in Australia, gambling a collective $50 billion every year.
Research has shown that because men believe they know about sport they also believe they have some control over the outcome.
But, like this group, the gamblers usually don’t win. So, why do they come back every week? That’s the mystery Shaun’s determined to solve.
“I can absolutely see the social utility in it, and I don’t think gambling is immoral or anything,” he tells TV WEEK. “But why people persist with it when they lose is the baffling thing to me.”
You can watch Shaun Micallef’s Going For Broke on ABC or ABC iView.
