Question – Gambling Support Program Multimedia Campaign and Addiction
Questions asked by Meg Webb MLC on 19 Sept 2019 and answered for the Govt by Hon Roger Jaensch on 26 Nov 2019
With regard to the material produced in the Gambling Support Program multimedia campaigns of the past five years –
QUESTION (1) Noting that gambling addiction is now recognised as a diagnosable mental health condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM 5), does the Government –
(a) Consider it appropriate to clearly label products that contain a risk of addiction?
(b) Accept the definition of gambling addiction as a health disorder in the DSM 5?
(c) Consider EGMs in their specific design to be a product that can trigger a gambling addiction disorder?
ANSWER (1) (a) This is a matter for the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, which is the independent body established under the Gaming Control Act 1993 responsible for the regulation of gambling in the state.
Tasmania’s regulatory framework for gambling provides for robust harm minimisation measures. The commission’s Responsible Gambling Mandatory Code of Practice for Tasmania requires that gambling operators make information available to people so that they can understand the nature of gambling and make informed choices about participating in gambling. The commission’s suite of information to players closely aligns with the Gambling Support Program material.
The mandatory code, together with the commission’s rules for gambling operators require among other things, that –
- Signs with the ODDSR branding and message ‘The longer you play, the more you lose’, reference to Gamblers Help and the telephone number and a warning for minors must be clearly displayed at every entrance to an area where gaming occurs and/or at other specific locations in a venue.
- In venues with gaming machines, posters with the ODDSR branding and a range of messages must be displayed in public bathrooms closest to gaming areas.
- Information for players (brochures and a contact card for Gamblers Help with the ODDSR branding) must be available in venues and online (if applicable). Brochures are to include information about –
- the chances of winning;
- responsible gambling, including how to limit losses;
- where to get help if gambling becomes a problem
- exclusion from gambling;
- the prohibition for minors; and
- how to make a complaint.
- Individual electronic gaming machines must be labelled with a sticker containing the ODDSR branding and message ‘The longer you play, the more you lose’, reference to Gamblers Help and the telephone number and a warning for minors.
- Gambling advertising must be conducted in a manner that takes account of the potential adverse impact that it can have on minors, people with gambling problems and people at risk of developing gambling problems. This includes responsible gambling messages in all media advertising incorporating a responsible gambling message and a reference to Gamblers Help and the telephone number.
The commission’s mandatory code and the rules for gambling operators are strict and extensive and are available on the Department of Treasury and Finance website www.treasury.tas.gov.au/liquor-and-gaming.
(b) The Government is aware that the DSM 5 defines gambling addiction as a health disorder. However, the GSP support services do not use the medical definition of addiction. Please see response to question (2)(c) below.
(c) There is limited research available in relation to the design of EGMs and gambling addition disorder as defined in the DSM 5. This is a new area that will require further investigation and research before consideration of this can be made.
QUESTION (2) (a) Does the word ‘addiction’ appear on any of the material produced in the Gambling Support Program multimedia campaigns?
(b) If so, does any of that material explicitly identify gambling as having a risk of addiction?
(c) If not, noting that other public education campaigns such as the QUIT campaign explicitly discuss addiction, why not public education campaigns in Tasmania relating to gambling and EGMs?
ANSWER (2) (a) No.
(b) Not applicable.
(c) The GSP provides campaigns that build community understanding of commercial gambling and allow people to make informed decisions about their participation. Our support services do not use the medical definition of addiction as part of their terminology and instead refer to the Problem Gambling Severity Index – PGSI – which acknowledges that harms can be experienced at any point along the continuum.
Recommendation 7.1 of the Productivity Commission 2010, Gambling, Report No. 50, Canberra, Volume 1 states ‘Building on existing initiatives, governments should place greater emphasis on campaigns that –
(i) dispel common myths about gambling and tell people how to gamble safely;
(ii) highlight potential future consequences (financial losses, relationship breakdowns) associated with problem gambling; and
(iii) make the community aware of behaviours indicative of problem gambling, to encourage earlier help-seeking or interventions by family and friends’.
QUESTION (3) What key messaging has been used in the government-funded primary prevention public education campaigns on gambling and EGMs over the past five years? Under the framework, what proportion of –
(a) funding and
(b) activity was directed to the prevention of problem gambling?
ANSWER (3) The key messages over the past five years have been –
- Know Your Odds messaging
- The longer you play, the more you lose
- The house edge
- How much can you expect to lose?
- Easy to bet, easy to lose
- It’s not just gamblers who need support. It’s those around them
- What are you willing to lose?
- Do you know someone affected by gambling?
- Watching more odds than action? Get back to the Real Game.
The framework informs the department’s public health approach to gambling policy, programs and service delivery; it does not identify budget and activities being undertaken by the GSP.
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