TRANSCRIPT
Canberra-based mother of six Kate Seselja says for fourteen years, gambling took over her life.
“I wasn't aware of it, I hadn't been educated around it and, like many Australians, it blindsided me in a way that profoundly impacted my sense of self, my wellbeing, my self-esteem. We've been flooded in Australia by an enormous amount of advertising normalising this activity that is actually harmful and designed to be addictive.”
(AUDIO – Gambling advert soundtrack)
That advertising goes hand-in-hand with Australia's obsession with sport.
Online betting has become increasingly popular in recent years, and now, more than 18,000 Australians have signed up to the national self-exclusion register, BetStop.
The vast majority of those, were aged under 40.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says 'the strong uptake of BetStop is great to see and is complemented by mandatory pre-verification that helps to ensure people aren’t finding workarounds to bet'.
Despite that strong uptake, Deakin University's Professor Samantha Thomas says the data shows a worrying trend.
“The concerning thing about the figures that we've seen today is that it's not just the volume of people that are self-excluding but the percentage of those that are younger adults. This shows that we actually have a public health crisis with our younger people, and the government needs to do more to step up and protect them.”
Professor Thomas says the government could be doing far more to curb this trend.
“We also know that these products can cause a huge amount of harm. Really stepping up and the government placing big restrictions on marketing and advertising and even a complete ban is generally recognised by public health experts, by the community, and most importantly, by young people themselves, as something that we need to do to prevent that harm from occurring.”
The harms of gambling addiction have also been felt by multicultural communities.
Anh Bui “anne booy” is the counselling team leader at the Australian Vietnamese Women's Association.
She's been working with people experiencing the harms of gambling for two years, and says those harms are wide-ranging.
“The gambling harms associated with financial harms is the most popular (common) among people. Usually it's not just financial, it's more about relationships, the mental health and wellbeing, and also the family issues are highlighted from my experience.”
Kevin Chan from the Chinese Peer Connection program has also noticed a new trend in his community.
“I'm seeing more younger generations, people who are studying in high school, or even international students, they can use gambling, online gambling, as a gateway to meet with friends, to socialise, to bond with their peers.”
Professor Thomas agrees people from diverse backgrounds can also be at risk.
“One of the things we know about gambling harm and the gambling industry is that they don't discriminate. We know that gambling harm impacts our most vulnerable communities. We certainly see that there is an increase in harm particularly for those in lower socioeconomic communities, but perhaps more concerningly that this industry is exacerbating vulnerability for these communities.”
The minister says the government is considering the recommendations of last year's parliamentary inquiry, acknowledging there is still more to do.
Gambling companies say they've pumped millions of dollars into financial counselling services for anyone experiencing harm.
