New official figures revealed that Australians have gambled away a total of AUS14.3 billion ($10 billion) in 2002.

Study: Aussies gambled away US$10 billion in the year 2001-2002

New official figures revealed that Australians gambled away a total of AU$14.3 billion (14.3 bln Australian dolars, or US$10 billion) in 2002, onlinepokernews.com reported.

Slot games (called pokies in Australia) were amongst the most popular gambling games to attract billions of Australian dollars in the year 2001-2002.

According to the Australian Gambling Statistics, Australians bet AU$8.9 billion ($6.2 billion) on pokies, AU$2.5 billion on casino games, AU$1.7 billion ($1.19 billion) on betting, and AU$1.2 billion ($0.84 billion) on lottery style games.

This equates to an average loss of AU$1,017 ($690) per adult Australian – a rise of more than AU$22 ($15) per person from the previous year.

Over the past 25 years, the amount spent on games, particularly pokies, has rapidly overtaken other forms of gambling such as betting on horses and dogs.

Those living in the Northern Territories were the heaviest gamblers, followed by those in New South Wales.

Experts say that gambling is "very much a feature of Australian life".