Alliance policies and position papers on reform issues
LANGUAGE GUIDE:
Links to gambling data
National:
Every November, the Qld Statistician releases national figures of all legal gambling activity in every state and territory. There is a small time-lag due to data verification, so the figures are for the financial year ending the year before the release. However, given some jurisdictions don't publish data, this is the only source where all the data is consistent and relatively up to date.
Victoria:
- Gaming statistics by LGA 2019/20
- Gaming estimated prevalence of severe gambling problems, by LGA, 2017
- Gaming losses as a percentage of gamblers’ incomes, by LGA, 2016
- Losses to all legal gambling types, Victoria 1989 to 2018
- Gambling participation by age, gender and gambling type, Victoria
- Real Community Benefits – Club Venues
- Impact of EGM gambling losses in each Victorian municipality, in terms of the number of children who could be fed for one year, with the amount of money lost to EGMs in 2018/19
NSW:
Data for poker machines in clubs and pubs in NSW is published 6 monthly by the Dept of Liquor and Gaming. Data is reported by Local Government Area (LGA)
There are some quirks to note: The reporting period for clubs is June-Nov & Dec-May, while pubs report July-Dec & Jan-June, although both data sets are released at the same time.
In NSW, there is no venue by venue data. If there are fewer than 5 clubs in an LGA, Liquor and Gaming bundle the data in with a neighbouring LGA. They do the same if there are less than 5 pubs. However, they don't bundle the same LGAs together, and if an additional club or pub opens, they deamalgamate the data. This means it can be impossible to determine the losses in LGAs with small numbers of venues, especially if they open and close from time to time.
The Fairfield Community Gambling Harm screening tool project
The Alliance was on the advisory committee for this project, which was funded by the NSW ORG. Using short tools to detect harm among gamblers and affected others, community workers and GPs were trained to help clients fill in the survey, provide general information and to make referrals if appropriate. One outcome was that 53% of participants reported some kind of harm - far higher than any other study has shown.
Resources for CALD and Indigenous communities
The NSW SouthWest Sydney Primary Health Network created a number of posters and flyers explaining gambling harm. These are made available free for use, but please acknowledge the PHN if you do use them.
- Gambling Harm DL Flyer Arabic
- Gambling Harm DL Flyer Assyrian
- Gambling Harm DL Flyer English
- Gambling Harm DL Flyer Vietnamese
- Gambling Harm Poster Arabic
- Gambling Harm Poster Assyrian
- Gambling Harm Poster English
- Gambling Harm Poster Vietnamese
Understanding culturally appropriate ways to discuss gambling harm, from the ANU Centre for Gambling Research
Helpful resources for Victorian communities
Check out this awesome animation by the VLGA about how to beat a pokie application in your community!
This data has been compiled by the City of Greater Dandenong, a leadership council of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, to help interested parties obtain information about the impact of gambling upon their local areas.
If an application for poker machines has arisen in your local area, reviewing the previous VCGLR decisions on gaming applications will be helpful in preparing to present a rebuttal case to Council and the VCGLR if necessary. Including specific data of your local area and the potential harm caused by additional pokies will be crucial to making your case, as well as linking to the listed relevant research.
DATA
- Gaming statistics by LGA 2018/19
- Gaming estimated prevalence of severe gambling problems, by LGA, 2017
- Gaming losses as a percentage of gamblers’ incomes, by LGA, 2016
- Losses to all legal gambling types, Victoria 1989 to 2017
- Gambling participation by age, gender and gambling type, Victoria
- Real Community Benefits – Club Venues
- Community Benefits Provided by Club EGM Gambling Venues: 2017/18 lost to gambling machines
- Impact of EGM gambling losses in each Victorian municipality, in terms of the number of children who could be fed for one year, with the amount of money lost to EGMs in 2018/19
ASSISTANCE WITH GAMING APPLICATIONS
- How to run a community campaign against a pokie application
- Local Government Approach to Preventing Gambling Harm
- The role of Local Government Policy
- Review of VCGLR gaming decisions from 2018
- Review of VCAT decisions on gaming applications
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Small area profiler – create a statistical profile of socio-economic conditions in gambling venue catchment areas
- To see motions passed by Local Councils related to gambling issues: click here
ALTERNATIVE RECREATION
- Framework for webpage about alternative recreation
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My Community Life
- This is a free online marketing website for not for profit community groups, clubs and organisations to list their details, events, activities and volunteer opportunities within the City of Kingston. This provides a resource for residents to find out how they can be involved in community life in the City of Kingston. It’s a Council owned and administered site however the content is user generated with all groups creating their own listings. We have over 450 groups with profiles and an average of 160 events and 80 volunteering roles listed.
USEFUL WEBSITES
- Listing of useful websites, including links to key sections of the VCGLR site
- Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation: Gambling Information Resource Office
REGULATOR DECISIONS
Dee Why RSL disciplinary action, NSW, July 2020
RELEVANT RESEARCH & ACADEMIC STUDIES
The following is relevant studies and background papers from government departments, relevant bodies, and researchers.
Understanding how gambling addiction works
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Designed to deceive: how gambling distorts reality and hooks your brain
- August 13 2018, Mike Robinson, The Conversation
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How the brain gets addicted to gambling
- November 1 2013, Ferris Jabr, Scientific American
Economic costs of gambling
2007 SA Centre for Economic Studies assessment of impact of gambling - this research shows that $1million invested in food and beverages creates 20 jobs, $1million invested in pokies creates only 3 jobs
2017 The Social cost of gambling in Victoria - research shows that while the Victorian budget received $2billion a year in taxes, there were $7billion a year in costs.
Other reports
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"Changes in online gambling practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic"
- May 2020, Rick Brown, Amelia Hickman, Australian Institute of Criminology
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"Women’s gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harm: differences by age and gambling risk status"
- April 2018, Simone McCarthy, Samantha L. Thomas, Melanie Randle, Amy Bestman, Hannah Pitt, Sean Cowlishaw and Mike Daube
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"Attitudes towards community gambling venues and support for regulatory reform: an online panel study of residents in New South Wales, Australia"
- March 2018, Amy Bestman, Samantha L. Thomas, Melanie Randle, Hannah Pitt and Mike Daube
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"Review of Gambling Issues for Local Government"
- March 2018, Hayden Brown, City of Greater Dandenong
- Real Community Benefits – Club Venues
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"Hidden Harm: Low-risk and moderate risk gambling"
- July 2017, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Gen Bet: Has Gambling Gatecrashed Our Teens"
- March 2017, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Responsible Gambling: Past, Present & Future"
- October 2016, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Assessing Gambling Related Harm in Victoria: A Public Health Perspective"
- April 2016, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Study of Gambling and Health in Victoria"
- November 2015, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Risk factors for problem gambling: Environmental, Geographic, Social, Cultural, Demographic, Socio-economic, family & household"
- May 2015, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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What is the evidence for harm minimisation at gambling venues
- 2014, Charles Livingstone, Angela Rintoul, Louise Francis, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Monash University
- 2014, Charles Livingstone, Angela Rintoul, Louise Francis, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
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"Victorian Gambling Study: A Longitudinal Study of Gambling and Health in Victoria 2008-2012"
- July 2014, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
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"Prevalence of problem gambling in NSW"
- April 2012, Kerry Sproston, Nerilee Hing & Chrissy Palankay, submitted to NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing
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"Longitudinal Study of Gambling and Health in Victoria 2008-2012: Wave Two findings"
- June 2011, Department of Justice, Victoria
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"Productivity Commission inquiry into Gambling Industry"
- 2010, Productivity Commission
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"Problem Gambling from a Public Health Perspective"
- September 2009, Department of Justice, Victoria
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Victorian Longitudinal Community Attitudes Survey 2003
- April 2004, Prepared for the Gambling Research Panel by The Centre for Gambling Research Australian National University