The Responsible Gambling Awareness Week 2018 in Australia’s New South Wales is urging people to look at their gambling habits and consider whether they need to make a change. The initiative, organized and supported by the NSW Government, was extended until the end of October in several communities in order to provide people with information and practical advice on tackling problem gambling.
This year’s Responsible Gambling Awareness Week originally ran from October 8 to October 14 as one of many measures taken by the NSW Government to reduce and eliminate gambling harm. There are various programs developed by the Office of Responsible Gambling but October’s initiative is especially important as it promotes responsible gambling habits and prevention of addiction and other gambling-related disorders. Residents in the Kempsey and Macleay Valley region are now being encouraged to also think about their betting and gambling choices, charity Mission Australia says.
The organization is a non-denominational Christian charity, which provides a wide number of community services across the country and works in cooperation with state and local authorities. One of Mission Australia’s experts, Gambling Help counsellor Daniel Hopkins, is now offering help and information to Kempsey residents. According to him, this is the perfect timing for such an initiative – after the AFL Grand Final at the end of September and before the Melbourne Cup, which will be held on November 6.
The Responsible Gambling Awareness Week will run until the end of October in Kempsey and the Macleay Valley region, with an event scheduled for Thursday, October 25th. Mission Australia will organize a morning tea Responsible Gambling information event at Kempsey Library at 10 a.m., Daniel Hopkins says. Everyone is invited to the meeting where responsible gambling behaviours will be promoted through advice and information.
Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 to Combat Gambling Harm
Earlier this year, the Office of Responsible Gambling in New South Wales released its inaugural Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 in an attempt to come up with solutions. Implementing them, however, would take much more efforts and would require cooperation with different institutions, most notably the Liquor and Gaming NSW, which is a government agency that acts as a regulator of the gambling industry.
According to statistics, published in the Strategic Plan, 54.6 per cent of the NSW population took part in some form of gambling in the 12 months to June 2018. The most popular gambling activity was the combined category of lottery products and instant scratch tickets. Around 42 per cent of adults played the lottery, while 20 per cent of NSW residents played pokies and other gaming machines. The third most prevalent gambling activity during this period, at 19 per cent, was sports betting.
The rates of problem gambling in New South Wales apparently remains low at 0.8 per cent of adults (39,840 people), at least according to data from 2012. This is the latest study carried out in the state, but a new one launched in 2018 and experts believe that once complete, it would show a more realistic picture. Researchers also found that 2.9 per cent of NSW residents were moderate-risk gamblers, while another 8.4 per cent were low-risk gamblers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
