Responsible Gambling Awareness Week 2017

Responsible Gambling Awareness Week (23–29 October 2017) provides an opportunity during Victoria’s peak betting season and the lead-up to Spring Racing Carnival to raise awareness of gambling harm and what it means to gamble responsibly.

The week is a partnership between the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, local government, the gambling industry and community groups. Each year, the Foundation and our partners hold events across the state to raise awareness about the importance of gambling responsibly.

The Hon. Marlene Kairouz MP will launch the week on Monday 23 October at RMIT, to showcase Incolink’s Apprentice Prevention Education Project. The project holds responsible gambling workshops for first and second-year building and construction industry apprentices at TAFEs throughout metropolitan and regional Victoria.

On Tuesday 24 October we’ll host a forum on gambling harm in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in partnership with the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH), which will bring together established CALD agencies to share their strategies and experiences of gambling harm within these communities.

Cricket Victoria will once again host a Love the Game themed round in the men’s and women’s Premier Cricket. The Charter Champion Online Training program will be launched on Saturday 28 October at a cricket match between St Kilda and Melbourne University to round off the week. The program aims to equip champions within grassroots sporting clubs with the knowledge to assist their friends and team mates who may be experiencing harm from gambling.

Community events

Local community events are a vital part of Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, with local councils, Gambler's Help agencies, sporting clubs and venues hosting a range of awareness raising activities throughout metropolitan and regional Victoria.

These events range from interactive presentations for parents, community forums, and family fun days and expos for the local community.

The week provides a great opportunity for friends and family to talk about gambling and ways to avoid harm.

The Foundation encourages a balanced approach to gambling and provides practical tips including:

• Set money and time limits and stick to them
• Keep track of your spending
• Take regular breaks
• When catching up with friends, make sure it’s not always about gambling.

The Foundation will also launch a new television ad, ‘Keep it well played', during Responsible Gambling Awareness Week. The campaign encourages people to reflect on their gambling behaviour and consider whether they may need to modify it.