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News and media releases from 2019

Geelong Cats love the game, not the odds

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation acknowledged the Geelong Cats’ announcement that the club has finalised arrangements to exit the last of its gaming venues early next year.

Reducing the Risk sports forum

The vulnerability of sports people to gambling harm was highlighted at a recent AFL Players Association (AFLPA) forum, ‘Reducing the Risk’. Supported by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the forum involved researchers, psychologists and industry experts discussing gambling risks for professional and community sportspeople.

Doggies’ decision to separate sport from gambling welcomed

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has welcomed the news today that Western Bulldogs FC has finalised arrangements to divest itself of any interest in pokies. An early...

Shifting the goal posts on sports betting

Most people under 25 have never experienced a time when sport and betting were considered separate activities. They’re the first generation to be exposed to saturation gambling advertising from...

Making the connection between stress and gambling in culturally and linguistically diverse communities

Thirty-two per cent of Victorian residents who experience side effects such as stress from gambling speak a language other than English at home. Compelled by this research and a 2018 survey finding that 48 per cent of Victorians are not aware that gambling can lead to negative emotional side effects, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has translated the Think… is that true for you? campaign into a range of languages: Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Melbourne Victory and Cricket Victoria still love the game

The Foundation is pleased to announce that Melbourne Victory and Cricket Victoria have re-signed with the Love the Game Sporting Club Program, which means they will continue...

Anna Bardsley, Victorian Senior of the Year award recipient

Photo of a smiling woman with short, curly grey hair, wearing a bright scarf and holding a trophy in the form of a sculptural and brightly coloured glass vase.

The Foundation’s Lived Experience Advisory Committee member Anna Bardsley was the recipient of the Healthy and Active Living Award at this week’s Victorian Senior of the Year Awards.

Teenage gambling linked to multiple public health issues

Teenagers on an iPad

New research into the prevalence of gambling among adolescents estimates that 25,600 students in Victoria aged 12–17 years may be spending $2.9 million on gambling each year, despite being under the age at which Australians can legally gamble. Released to coincide with Gambling Harm Awareness Week (7–13 October), the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation-funded research found 31 per cent of kids in the study had gambled at some point in the past – and six per cent had gambled in the previous 30 days.

Funding to tackle local gambling harm

The Andrews Labor Government is preventing gambling harm across Victoria through state-wide grants for 14 community-based, not-for-profit organisations. Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Marlene Kairouz today attended a Gambling Harm Awareness Week workshop in Bendigo and announced $2 million in grant funding.

Kids high ‘consumers’ of TV’s 374 daily gambling ads

A male writing ideas on a glass board at an office and explaining it to a group of four

New research released today to coincide with Shifting the goal posts on sports betting, a Gambling Harm Awareness Week (7–13 October) panel event, has found gambling ads are played four times more often during sports programming than during non-sport TV.

Everyday heroes overcome the stigma of gambling harm

Gambling Harm Awareness Week – 7-13 October 2019

The stigma associated with gambling harm is so strong that many people would rather acknowledge a drug or alcohol addiction than disclose a gambling problem. During Gambling Harm Awareness Week (7–13 October 2019), Victorians are being asked to consider the negative consequences of their own or someone else’s gambling, to listen to the stories of others who have been affected, and to support the people in their lives who may be struggling.

Support For Mental Health And Gambling Harm Program

Alfred Health’s Mental Health and Gambling Program will receive a $1.2 million funding boost over three years from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. This will strengthen the model of care for clients and provide them with better health outcomes.

Public libraries open doors as gambling alternative

Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Marlene Kairouz has announced the expansion of the Libraries After Dark program, which gives vulnerable Victorians access to six additional libraries for evening activities. Dandenong, Springvale, Sebastopol and Moe were the successful funding recipients for the next stage of the Libraries After Dark project. Werribee Plaza and Bairnsdale will both receive funding from 2020.

Application for new venue with 52 pokies by Ellinbank Football & Netball Club withdrawn

Rows of pokie machines with shallow depth of field.

Ellinbank Football & Netball Club Inc has withdrawn the application it made to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation for approval of a new gaming venue with 52 pokies at Club Newmason in Warragul.

Encouraging all women to love the game

Anna Teague

It’s fitting that this Women’s Health Week falls in the midst of the Swisse Wellness VFL Women's Love the Game finals series. The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is delighted to be caught up in the footy fever, sharing the naming rights to this month’s competition.

Commission approves application for additional 10 pokies at Monbulk Bowling Club

Rows of pokie machines with shallow depth of field.

On 19 August 2019, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation approved an application from Monbulk Bowling Club Inc to increase the number of pokies at Monbulk Bowling Club from 30 to 40.

Commission refuses application for additional 25 pokies at Players Hotel

Rows of pokie machines with shallow depth of field.

On 1 August 2019, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation refused an application from Castello's Players Hotel Pty Ltd to increase the number of pokies at Players Hotel in Dandenong from 25 to 50.

Justice Project approaches the Bench

Anastasia_Main_mob_1536x1160_Inside-Gambling_06-19.jpg

A health justice partnership between Gambler’s Help Southern and a local community legal service is educating the legal fraternity about gambling harm as a public health issue and pushing for its consideration as a mitigating factor when sentencing.

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