8684.0 - Gambling Industries, Australia, 2000-01  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/07/2002   
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INTRODUCTION

1 This publication presents results, in respect of the 2000-01 financial year, from surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) of employing businesses in a range of industries involved in the provision of gambling services.

SCOPE

2 The scope of the survey was all employing businesses classified, on the ABS Business Register, to the following nine classes of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC):

  • 5710 ACCOMMODATION
  • 5720 PUBS, TAVERNS AND BARS
  • 5740 CLUBS (HOSPITALITY)
  • 9311 HORSE AND DOG RACING
  • 9312 SPORTS GROUNDS AND FACILITIES N.E.C.
  • 9319 SPORTS AND SERVICES TO SPORTS N.E.C.
  • 9321 LOTTERIES (PART - EXCLUDING LOTTERY AGENCIES)
  • 9322 CASINOS
  • 9329 GAMBLING SERVICES N.E.C.
3 This publication presents data for employing businesses in the above industries which sourced some part of their income in the form of net takings or commissions from the provision of gambling services.

COVERAGE

4 The frame used for the Gambling industry surveys, like most ABS economic surveys, was taken from the ABS Business Register. The ABS Business Register is primarily based on registrations to the Australian Taxation Office's Pay As You Go Withholding (PAYGW) scheme (and prior to 1 July 2000 the Group Employer (GE) scheme). The frame is updated quarterly to take account of new businesses and businesses which have ceased employing.

5 Businesses which have ceased employing are identified when the Australian Taxation Office cancels their PAYGW registration (or previously their GE registration). In addition, from July 1999, businesses which did not remit under the GE scheme for the previous five quarters were removed from the frame. A similar process will be adopted to remove businesses which do not remit under the PAYGW scheme. The changes resulted in a shift in the level of the gambling activity and gambling industry estimates. Historic data in this publication have been revised to take account of these changes.

6 The introduction of The New Tax System (TNTS) has a number of significant implications for ABS business statistics, and these are discussed in Information Paper: ABS Statistics And The New Tax System (cat. no. 1358.0) and Information Paper: Improvements in ABS Economic Statistics [Arising from The New Tax System] (cat. no. 1372.0).

IMPROVEMENTS TO COVERAGE

7 Data in this publication have been adjusted to allow for lags in processing new businesses to the ABS Business Register, and the omission of some businesses from the register. The majority of businesses affected and to which the adjustments apply are small in size.

8 Adjustments have been made to include new businesses in the estimates in the periods in which they commenced operations, rather than when they were processed to the ABS Business Register. Adjustments of this type will continue to be applied in future periods.

9 Further adjustments have been made for businesses which had been in existence for several years, but, for various reasons, were not previously added to the ABS Business Register.

10 For more information on these adjustments, please refer to the ABS publication Information Paper: Improvements to ABS Economic Statistics, 1997 (cat. no. 1357.0).

STATISTICAL UNIT

11 The unit for which statistics were reported in the survey was the management unit. The management unit is the highest-level accounting unit within a business or organisation, having regard for industry homogeneity, for which accounts are maintained. In nearly all cases it coincides with the legal entity owning the business (i.e. company, partnership, trust, sole operator, etc.). In the case of large diversified businesses, however, there may be more than one management unit, each coinciding with a 'division' or 'line of business'. A division or line of business is recognised where separate and comprehensive accounts are compiled for it.

STATE AND TERRITORY DATA

12 Data were collected in respect of the Australia-wide operations of each business. Where the business operates in only one state or territory, all the activities of the business are attributed to that state or territory. For example, businesses operating lotteries, lottos, football pools etc. generally operate from one state or territory, though they may have sales, usually through agencies, throughout Australia. Businesses which operated in more than one state or territory were asked to provide a dissection of key data items by state and territory to enable state and territory statistics to be compiled.

REFERENCE PERIOD

13 Data contained in the tables in this publication relate to all gambling industries within the survey scope (see paragraphs 2 and 3) which operated in Australia at any time during the year ended June 2001. Counts of businesses and organisations include only those that were operating at 30 June 2001.

BUSINESSES CEASED DURING THE YEAR

14 A very small number of businesses ceased operations during the 2000-01 reference period. As is normal ABS procedure, the contributions of these businesses were included in the survey output.

RELIABILITY OF DATA

15 Since the estimates in this publication include information obtained from a sample drawn from units in the survey population, the estimates are subject to sampling variability, that is, they may differ from figures that would have been obtained if all units had been included in the survey. One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error, which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample of units was included.

16 There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one standard error from the figure that would have been obtained if a census had been conducted, and approximately 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two standard errors.

17 Sampling variability can be measured by the relative standard error (RSE) which is obtained by expressing the standard error as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. The RSE is a useful measure in that it provides an immediate indication of the percentage errors likely to have occurred due to sampling, and this avoids the need to refer also to the size of the estimate.

18 The following table contains estimates of RSEs for a selection of the statistics presented in this publication.

RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS FOR TABLE 1.1 BUSINESSES WITH GAMBLING ACTIVITY, BY INDUSTRY

%

Pubs, taverns and bars
3
Hospitality clubs
3
Thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing clubs
12
Other sporting clubs and venues
13
Casinos
-
Lottery operators
-
Gambling services n.e.c.
-
Accommodation
23
Total
1

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
Copyright ã Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002


19 As an example of the above, an estimate of total number of pubs, taverns and bars with gambling activity is 2,566 and the RSE is 3%, giving a standard error of 77 pubs, taverns and bars. Therefore, there would be two chances in three that, if all units had been included in the survey, a figure in the range of 2,489 to 2,643 would have been obtained, and 19 chances in 20 (i.e. a confidence interval of 95%) that the figure would have been within the range of 2,412 to 2,720.

20 Where the RSE of an estimate included in this publication exceeds 25%, it has been annotated with an asterisk (*) as a warning to users. Where the RSE of an estimate exceeds 50%, it has been annotated with a double asterisk (**).

21 Errors other than those due to sampling may occur because of deficiencies in the register of units from which the sample was selected, non-response, and imperfections in reporting by respondents. Inaccuracies of this kind are referred to as non-sampling errors and they may occur in any collection, whether it be a census or a sample. Every effort has been made to reduce non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design and testing of questionnaires, and efficient operating procedures and systems used to compile the statistics.

RELEASE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

22 As well as the statistics included in this publication, other data on the gambling industries are also available on request. Such data include gross and net takings, by type of gambling. For information on the provision of additional data please contact Ann Santo in Melbourne on (03) 9615 7910.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

23 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated; without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

24 This publication is one of a series to be issued in respect of 2000-01 for a range of hospitality, sporting, recreation and gambling service industries. Other publications in this series are:

Casinos, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8683.0) - issued 7 December 2001
Selected Amusement and Leisure Industries, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8688.0) - issued 30 April 2002
Clubs, Pubs, Taverns and Bars, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8687.0) - issued 25 June 2002
Sports Industries, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8686.0)
Accommodation Industry, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8695.0)