Sydney, November 21 Online dating sites have done substantial amount of harm to the Australian sex industry, according to a report.

According to business information analyst IBISWorld, the sex industry has apparently shrunk by 6 percent in Australia in the last financial year.

And experts are of the opinion that the reason behind it is the surge in online dating sites, which has made casual sex more accessible.

Edward Butler, a senior analyst at IBISWorld, used industry surveys and Australian Bureau of Statistics data to reach the conclusion.

"It's not the most precise science compared to other industries," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.

He added: " We've had to be more intuitive, but we're pretty confident of the results.

"The rapid growth in online services means it has never been easier for like-minded individuals to organise casual liaisons for little or no cost."

The Adult Business Association of NSW's spokesman, Chris Seage, further revealed that the brothels have been hit hard the most.

He said: "Brothels aren't the goldmine they used to be 10 or 20 years ago. The regular punters aren't coming as often.

"Rather than weekly, they're coming fortnightly or monthly and they're also cutting down on time, opting for the half-hour instead of the full hour.

"But I believe it is having an effect on trading. It's a lot cheaper to hook on a matchmaker site, pay a much smaller fee and engage in casual sex that way. It's an emerging issue for the industry."

FlingFinder, adultmatchmaker.com.au and benaughty.com are some of the sites that promise relationships. (ANI)