Underestimating the problem

Letter to to the Editor   

The Premier is being untruthful every time he says “only 0.6 per cent” of Tasmanians are problem gamblers. He knows this because experts who conduct these prevalence studies say it is an underestimate.

The data comes from a long phone survey that questions people about their gambling in the past 12 months – how often, where, for how long, how much did you spend and much more.

People who have a problem with gambling will most likely hang up. Many of those who do complete the survey will give underestimates – just like many of us do when our GP asks us how many alcoholic drinks we have in a week.

Based on the data from these surveys, the only truthful thing the Premier can say is that “at least 0.6 per cent” of Tasmanians are problem gamblers.

A different survey in 2016 asked Tasmanians if they personally knew someone with a serious problem gambling on poker machines. One in three Tasmanians said yes.

While it is politically convenient for the Premier to be repeatedly untruthful about this issue, to do so is highly disrespectful and dismissive of the harm that is happening every day in Tasmanian families.

Meg Webb, Member for Nelson,  Advocate and Mercury 1 Sept 2020

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