![]() Ingenious firms have come up with work-arounds to remain within the law: pachinko, a popular game akin to pinball, avoids being classified as gambling by giving “special prizes”, which can be traded for cash at kiosks separate from the pachinko parlours. Although the country is still the world’s third-largest gambling market, annual revenues have been declining steadily since 2003 amid tight regulation. In contrast, gaming firms may be set to hit the jackpot in Japan. That precipitous decline caused overall global winnings to drop in 2015-the first dip since 2003, when H2G’s data begin. The industry’s profits in China promptly fell by 20%, and have barely recovered. But in 2013 the government announced a crackdown on corruption, which prevented Chinese government officials from entertaining in the casinos of Macau. Just three years ago, H2G expected China (including Macau and Hong Kong) to surpass America as the world’s biggest market in 2020. Singapore also keeps a tight lid on the range of legal betting options, and has seen industry revenues fall off as a result.Ī different type of regulation has curbed gaming in China. As a result, Ireland and Finland, which have opened up online markets, recently overtook America in spending per person. Online gaming, which accounts for a third of spending in some countries, is legal in just three states after a federal clampdown in 2011, while sports betting is fully legal in just one. However, the country’s Puritan tendencies have kept the industry’s growth in check, and spending per person has remained static for a decade. The untapped potential is enormous: Americans wagered $150bn illegally on sports alone last year, by one estimate. The biggest prize by far is the United States, where bettors’ total losses reached $117bn last year. By contrast, in Australia, which began to deregulate the industry in the 1980s, punters can lose as much as $1,150 an hour.ĭespite Australia’s profitability, the high level of existing gambling penetration and relatively small population of 23m make it a relatively mature market without much room for expansion. ![]() Although the devices are legal in many other markets, bet sizes are usually capped at modest levels. The most popular form of gaming in Australia is on ubiquitous electronic poker machines, or “pokies”, which are more prevalent there than anywhere else. That is 40% higher than Singapore, the runner-up, and around double the average in other Western countries. Yet industry insiders know it is far and away their most lucrative market: according to H2 Gambling Capital (H2G), a consultancy, betting losses per resident adult there amounted to $990 last year. And that means setting our own standards that far exceed current regulation regarding residual plastics.To the general public, Australia hardly leaps to mind as a gambling hotbed. ![]() Our challenge has been to develop a replacement material that has none of these negative impacts on our planet. The current regulatory standard does not go far enough - it requires only for residual microplastics to be less than 2mm in size. Other ‘compostable’ plastics break down but still leave microplastics. ![]() The transition towards bioplastics is in its earliest phase. ![]() Pollution from the extraction and refinement of fossil fuels Microplastics in our oceans and food chain However single use plastics in everyday products and packaging contribute to: Disposable items have made modern lives more convenient, but these items are typically made of single use plastics due to the high quality of consumer experience compared to paper or bamboo. Plastics have enabled pioneering breakthroughs in medicine, technology and automotives. ![]()
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