News and media
Counting the cost of pokies

Two pieces of Foundation-funded research consider the risk factors associated with living close to a venue with electronic gaming machines. Does venue proximity have an effect on gambling behaviour or on the number of local personal insolvencies?
Gambling harm within the Australian Defence Force

The Foundation-funded Gambling problems among Australian military personnel after deployment: analyses of the Middle East Area of Operations Prospective Health Study is believed to be the first research...
Getting our priorities right

The Foundation has released new strategic documents that will help our partners and stakeholders better understand how our decision making affects the programs and services we fund.
Gambling harm expert honoured – Australia Day awards

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation proudly congratulates Rosa Billi for her inclusion in the 2022 Australia Day Honours list. Ms Billi, who leads the Foundation’s Research & Evaluation branch, has been acknowledged with a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to community health in Victoria, particularly in the area of gambling harm.
Request for tender: 2022 Victorian Population Gambling and Health Study
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is seeking a suitably qualified and experienced contractor to undertake the 2022 Victorian Population Gambling and Health Study. The 2022 Victorian Population...
Launch of our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2021–2023

The launch of the Foundation’s second RAP was an opportunity to reflect on what we have learned so far. It was a privilege to do that in the company of RAP expert adviser Rod Jackson and Geraldine Atkinson, co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.
Pushing back against normalisation of gambling

Today’s young adults are the first generation to have been exposed to the mass marketing of gambling products throughout their lifetime. It’s a topic that stirs up conversations when the Foundation’s ‘Be ahead of the game’ school education program is rolled out in the classroom.
‘Nothing about us without us’: first-hand experiences help reduce gambling harm

Some communities are particularly vulnerable to gambling harm. Foundation-funded researchers highlighted some of their findings during a Gambling Harm Awareness Week event that focused on lived experiences of risk, resilience and help-seeking.
Hard work and clear speaking

In a busy few months, the Foundation has led Gambling Harm Awareness Week events and launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan.
Phoenix joins 600+ Victorian clubs to love the game, not the odds
South East Melbourne Phoenix has joined the Melbourne Boomers and 600+ clubs in a range of sporting codes across Victoria to say no to sports betting sponsorship.
Western United joins the Foundation to love the game, not the odds
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has welcomed Western United as the second elite soccer club to join the Love the Game program, alongside rival team Melbourne Victory and more than 600 other Victorian sporting partners united against sports betting sponsorship.
Supporting Vietnamese women affected by gambling

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has awarded $400,000 to the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA) for projects that will aim to prevent and reduce incarceration rates related to gambling harm.
Gambling harm in three distinct communities
New research shows that people with an intellectual disability who gamble on the pokies are unlikely to be aware of the potential for negative consequences, which is a clear...
Ballarat to pilot new gambling screening tool
Health care professionals in Ballarat will pilot a new Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation developed screening tool, which aims to connect treatment and support for people who struggle with gambling....
Overcoming stigma key to overcoming gambling addiction
Gambling Harm Awareness Week (18–24 October 2021) is the ideal time to start a conversation with family, friends, neighbours and others about the negative effects of gambling, share ideas to prevent gambling harm, and find ways to support people who experience harm as a result of their own or someone else’s gambling. A new series of videos created by the Foundation, with the expertise of University of Melbourne neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, explain how gambling affects the way the brain functions and, importantly, how an addiction can be reversed.
E-sports a breeding ground for young punters: study
Gamer to gambler by Caleb Bond. Published by Sunday Herald Sun, Melbourne, 29 August 2021. Young Australians are being sucked into the vortex of gambling addiction at...
Commission approves application for additional 12 pokies at Kyabram Club

On 24 August 2021, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation approved an application by Kyabram Club Inc to increase the number of pokies at the Kyabram Club (Shire of Campaspe) from 53 to 65.
Latrobe Valley receives targeted gambling harm support
The Victorian Government is continuing to support people at risk of gambling harm, investing in a localised support project across the Latrobe Valley. Reclink Australia has been selected to deliver the $600,000 Latrobe Valley Gambling Harm Prevention Project, which will deliver community sports, arts and recreation programs to people at risk of gambling harm, including those who may be experiencing social isolation and poor mental health.
Cricket Victoria re-joins the club
Cricket Victoria has demonstrated its support for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s new Join the club campaign, today renewing its commitment to reducing kids’ exposure to sports betting promotions through a one-year extension to its Love the Game partnership.
New First Nations Gambling Harm Program

The Victorian Government is prioritising the needs of young First Nations people, launching Australia’s first youth specific First Nations Gambling Awareness program on Wadawurrung Country. Aboriginal-owned organisation Strong Brother Strong Sister has been selected to deliver the Djilang Gambling Awareness Program, which will provide support to young people affected by their own or their family’s gambling activities. The program will receive $250,000 over 15 months to help young Wadawurrung people pursue self-determination through social, emotional, and health and wellbeing measures, with a key focus on minimising gambling harm.