1. Understanding Gambling Related Harm
Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea
Phase 2
The aim of the Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea Phase 2 project is to shift perceptions about gambling related harm, specifically who experiences it, what harm looks like and what can be done to prevent it.
The project does not seek to tell individuals what they should or shouldn’t do, it seeks to build knowledge to help individuals make more informed choices. It also strives to create environments safe from gambling related harm.
This presentation will outline opportunities available for individuals and businesses to get involved in gambling harm prevention initiatives.

2. Australians are the world’s biggest ‘gamblers’
Source: ‘The House Wins’ Max Ehrenfreund The Economist Online February, 2014
Australians experience the highest individual gambling losses in the world.
Latest global studies have shown that the average Australian resident will spend over a $1000 on gambling per year.
Other countries that also rank highly include Singapore, Finland, New Zealand and the United States of America.
There are also more poker machines in Australia then all of Las Vegas.

3. Gambling in Victoria There are many ways to gamble…
Electronic Gaming Machines (pokies)
Casino games
Wagering (TAB)
Online sports betting
Keno
Lotteries
Bingo
At a state-wide level, the Victorian Gambling Industry makes an annual profit of 5.4 billion dollars.
There are many legally available and licenced gambling products in Victoria including:
Electronic gaming machines (i.e. ‘pokies’)
Casino games (i.e. table games such as those found at Crown casino e.g. Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, Roulette)
Wagering or TAB (i.e. where many people place bets for events like Melbourne Cup Day or the Grand Final)
Online sports betting
Keno
Lotteries (owned by the ‘Tatts Group’)
Bingo
There are many stakeholders involved in the Victorian Gambling Industry (i.e. gaming companies, hotels/clubs that contain electronic gaming machines, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation [VRGF] and the Victorian Commission for Gambling & Liquor regulation). This means that trying to make changes to the gaming industry can be extremely complex and difficult.

4. How do Victorian’s gamble?
Source: ‘Assessing gambling-related harm in Victoria: a public health perspective’,
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (April 2016)
According to a study conducted by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in April 2016, the most popular gambling products in Victoria are:
Lottery games (47% of Victorians participate in this)
Buying tickets in raffles (42% of Victorians participate in this)
Betting on races (21% of Victorians participate in this)
Electronic Gaming Machines (17% of Victorians participate in this)
The two products which Victorian are spending the most money on are lottery games and poker machines (as the table shows).

5. The highest gambling losses are to Electronic Gaming Machines or ‘pokies’
In Victoria
$2.6 billion lost between
(an increase of $45 million from the previous year)
In the City of Whittlesea
$103 million lost between
(an increase of $1.7 million from the previous year)
The average City of Whittlesea resident will lose approx. $700 to the pokies per year.
Despite there being various legally available gambling products, Victorians are losing the most money to electronic gaming machines or ‘pokies’.
In Victoria 2.6 billion dollars was lost to pokies in the financial year (an increase of 45 million dollars from the previous year).
In the City of Whittlesea, over 103 million was lost to pokies between (an increase of 1.7 million dollars from the previous year).
Furthermore, the average City of Whittlesea resident will lose approximately $700 to pokies alone, not to mention any other form of gambling.

6. How does Whittlesea fare?
Venue
Licensed EGM's
Venue Type
Expenditure
Bridge Inn Hotel 60
Hotel
$ 7,211,606.61
Bundoora Taverner
100
$ 17,167,997.99
Casa D’Abruzzo Club 75
Club
$ 6,712,666.26
Epping Hotel 40
$ 7,615,008.58
Epping Plaza Hotel
$ 21,108,174.18
Epping RSL 45
$ 4,156,093.48
Excelsior Hotel
105
$ 15,585,384.36
Lalor Bowling Club 36
$ 2,624,631.27
Plough Hotel
$ 18,193,081.30
Whittlesea Bowls Club 50
$ 3,024,537.67
Total:
711
10 EGM venues
$ 103,399,181.70
Source:
‘City of Whittlesea - Monthly Net EGM Expenditure’, Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (August 2016)
In comparison the rest of Victoria, the City of Whittlesea local government area:
experiences the 7th highest losses to pokies across the state
possesses 3 of the Victoria’s top ten highest loss venues (i.e. the Epping Plaza Hotel, the Plough Hotel and the Bundoora Taverna)
is home to Victoria’s highest loss pokies venue, the Epping Plaza Hotel.

7. Why is so much money lost to pokies?
Overly accessible
Designed to win and addict
Limited regulation
Normalisation
There are a number of reasons why so much money is being lost to pokies.
1) Pokies are overly accessible:
they are often co-located with shops and within many local hotels and clubs
pokies venues often have extended trading hours, increasing their availability even more
2) Pokies are programmed so that the ‘house always wins’ and are designed to be addictive:
they are programmed to have an 85% return to player rate
when you’ve lost the machine will play upbeat music or offer ‘free spins’ to distract you from mentally acknowledging your losses
pokies cause the same chemical reaction in the brain as other addictive substances (e.g. heroin)
3) Regulation of pokies is ‘limited’:
there could be more regulation to prevent/reduce gambling related harm
local councils do not hold a great deal of decision making authority to prevent new poker machines from coming into the municipality
4) Gambling is becoming ‘normalised’ in Australian culture:
gambling is becoming part of Australian culture, however there is limited awareness that overexposure to gambling products can lead to harm.

8. Gambling related harm doesn’t just affect “problem gamblers”
Gambling related harm affects 1 in 10 Victorians
In Victoria, gambling related harm is two thirds as common as major depressive disorders and alcohol misuse and dependence.
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation released a study in April 2016 assessing gambling related harm in Victoria, looking at the participation in and impacts of all forms of gambling.
The study revealed that 85% of the total burden of harm from gambling in Victoria is experienced by people who gamble occasionally, and not by people experiencing addiction.
This contradicts what is commonly believed, which is that gambling related harm only affects ‘problem gamblers’. This is not true. Further more we try not to use the term ‘problem gambler’ because it can cause harm to individuals (i.e. just like we don’t call people ‘disabled’ anymore, we call them a person with a disability).
Additionally, conversations centred around ‘problem gamblers’ often reinforces ‘victim blaming’ and fails to acknowledge that over accessibility to gambling products can lead to harm and addiction.
Not only does gambling related harm affect 1 in 10 Victorians but it is also becoming as common as major depressive disorders and alcohol misuse and dependence.
Further more the gambling harm prevention sector is experiencing a shift away from solely delivering work focussed on ‘personal choice’ to more population level strategies encouraging settings based gambling harm prevention efforts.
This comes as a result of recognising gambling related harm as a public health issue and realising that to tackle an issue of this enormity you really have to work smarter and across populations.
Source:
Assessing gambling-related harm in Victoria: a public health perspective’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (April 2016)

9. What is gambling related harm?
Dimension of harm:
Examples:
Financial harm
Debt, lost money from savings, diverted spending money from household expenditure, luxury items and holidays
Relationship problems
Dishonesty, less time with partner or family, neglect, conflict, less trust, breakdown
Emotional or psychological distress
Shame, reduced self-worth, guilt, regret, loss of reputation, insecurity, vulnerability, feeling out of control
Decreased health
Long hours of sitting, increased blood pressure, loss of sleep, increased drinking or smoking, increased experience of family violence, self-harm, other health problems
Cultural harm
Culturally based shame, reduced involvement in community/cultural practices, reduced community connection due to social exclusion because of gambling
Reduced performance at work or study
Tiredness, distraction, absenteeism, job loss, reduced participation in volunteering
Other
Our understanding of what gambling related harm is has become a lot more complex.
Many people understand the financial impact gambling can have on a person (e.g. debt, lost money from savings, diverted spending money from household expenditure, luxury items and holidays) but other dimensions of harm are not as commonly discussed or understood.
Gambling related harm can negatively impact on a person’s:
Relationships (e.g. dishonesty, less time with partner or family, neglect, conflict, less trust, breakdown)
Psychological and emotional state (e.g. shame, reduced self-worth, guilt, regret, loss of reputation, insecurity, vulnerability, feeling out of control)
Physical health (e.g. long hours of sitting, increased blood pressure, loss of sleep, increased drinking or smoking, increased experience of family violence, self-harm, other health problems)
Community and cultural practices (e.g. culturally based shame, reduced involvement in community/cultural practices, reduced community connection due to social exclusion because of gambling)
Performance at work or study (e.g. tiredness, distraction, absenteeism, job loss, reduced participation in volunteering)

10. Distribution and degrees of gambling related harm
Degrees of harm:
‘General’
‘Crisis’
‘Legacy’
Harm can be experienced:
Across the life-course
Inter-generationally
Individuals are likely to experience multiple types/dimensions of harm as a result of gambling. Harm is multifaceted.
Degrees of gambling related harm can vary greatly. Individuals can experience:
‘General harms’ (i.e. minor harms such as being unable to pay a bill)
‘Crisis harms’ (i.e. critical harms that may make someone believe they have a gambling problem and possibly seek help e.g. bankruptcy).
‘Legacy harms’ (i.e. harms that have a long-term impact even after a gambling problem has been resolved e.g. relationship breakdown).
Legacy harms can be experienced both across the lifespan and inter-generationally (e.g. parental poverty as a result of gambling can impact on children throughout their lifespan).
Source:
Assessing gambling-related harm in Victoria: a public health perspective’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (April 2016)

11. What’s being done to prevent gambling related harm?
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation supports:
A ‘public health approach’
State wide campaigns
Settings based work
Local prevention projects
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is a peak body for gambling harm prevention across Victorian. They:
adopt a public health approach, which means they are working across all levels of prevention trying to reduce gambling harm
coordinate state-wide campaigns like ‘Bet Regret’ and ‘Many Ways To Get Help’ commercials you may have seen on TV
do settings based work delivering education programs in schools and sporting clubs
fund local prevention projects, which are projects across Victoria that are testing innovative new ways of preventing gambling related harm.

12. Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea Project
Phase 1 ( ): A community development/education project and campaign about Electronic Gaming Machine losses in the city of Whittlesea. Phase 2 ( ): Testing a settings based approach to preventing gambling related harm with workplaces and job seeker agencies.
The Putting the Health and Wealth Back Into Whittlesea is a local prevention project. This project has had two phases.
Phase One ( ):
Funding was provided to the Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce On Gambling and work involved heavy community education and an awareness raising campaign about pokies losses in the city of Whittlesea.
Phase Two ( ):
Funding was provided to Whittlesea Community Connections until June 2017.
The project is testing a settings based approach to gambling harm prevention with workplaces and jobseekers agencies.
Work happening within these settings involves:
developing gambling focussed policies, practices and procedures (e.g. having settings to ‘commit’ to not hold staff outings in gaming venues and monitoring workplace gambling activities such as footy tipping).
raising awareness and building staff knowledge about what gambling related harm is, who does it affect, what being done to prevent it and how to refer on/access support.

13. Other gambling harm prevention efforts (not part of the Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea project)
Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce on Gambling (WITOG)
Alliance for Gambling Reform
City of Whittlesea, Gambling Strategy and Action Plan ( )
There are also other gambling harm prevention initiatives separate to Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation funded initiatives.
In the City of Whittlesea, these include:
The Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce on Gambling
This is a network of agencies trying to prevent gambling related harm in our municipality.
Their activities include awareness raising, coordinating advocacy and contributing to local data collection on gambling.
Member agencies include YMCA Whittlesea, Plenty Valley Community Health, City of Whittlesea, Whittlesea Community Connections, Salvation Army, Kildonan Uniting Care and the Hume Whittlesea PCP.
They have been involved in the implementation of the ‘No Pokies at Commercial’ campaign.
2. The Alliance for Gambling Reform
This is a collaboration of organisations with a shared concern about the impacts and normalisation of gambling in Australia.
They are 100% funded by donations from individuals and foundations that do not have any ties with the gambling industry.
They are heavily involved in advocacy for legislative change to the gambling sector to reduce risk and exposre.
3. City of Whittlesea Gambling Strategy and Action Plan ( )
Council have identified ‘gambling’ as one of there top 10 advocacy priorities
They have developed gambling focussed strategy and action plan which will include a ‘Pokies Play Whittlesea’ campaign.

14. How can you get involved?
Subscribe to the ‘Poker Machines Harm Whittlesea’ E-newsletter
Become an Alliance for Gambling Reform volunteer by visiting
Express your interest to be notified by Council of local gambling harm prevention opportunities for your involvement by ing
Subscribe to the ‘Poker Machines Harm Whittlesea’ E-newsletter
Become an Alliance for Gambling Reform volunteer by visiting
Express your interest to be notified by Council of local gambling harm prevention opportunities for your involvement by ing

15. Where to get help www.gamblershelpnnw.org.au 1300 133 445
People can receive support from Gamblers Help North and North Western.
Gamblers Help North and North Western offers a range of free and confidential services across the Northern and Western areas of Melbourne.
Their services include:
Counselling
Financial Counselling
Peer Support
Their services are not only for people in crisis, they can be accessed by anyone who is experiencing/knows someone that is experiencing gambling related harm.

16. For more information contact
Bianca Opasinis Lead Project Worker Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea
For more information on the Putting the Health and Wealth Back into Whittlesea, contact Bianca Opasinis – Lead Project Worker on or