Geelong Cats Coach Chris Scott talks footy & gambling

The partnership with the Foundation is so important to the Geelong footy club, but also the Geelong community.

We don't think that the show that we put on out on the field should be linked directly to people gambling.

When we're dealing with young kids who are very easily influenced, we'd like to separate that as much as we possibly could.

We think that the people of Geelong want to see an organisation who lives the right values and we absolutely prioritise being competitive, playing to win, but also going about our business in a manner that our supporters can be proud of.

At the Cats we look after our young players when it comes to gambling in a number of ways.

I think education is the most important part, we don't necessarily say that none of our players should gamble at all, but we'd like them to be aware of the risks and the way that they can be manipulated by people who have a vested interest in them losing their money.

We understand acutely the risk involved of young players who have higher than average income, which can lead to some opportunities for problem gambling to develop.

And again, we try pretty hard to give them some strategies that they can use to at least ask themselves the question:

Is this a deliberate thing? Is it something that I actually want to do?

Or are they falling into a trap without even realising it?

If one of my players came to me for help around gambling, I think the first thing is I'd be wrapped that he actually came to me and acknowledged that there was a problem.

When people have problems like that, it can feel like you're the only person going through that problem and there's a level of embarrassment that needs to be dealt with.

But, I think we're seeing more and more that a lot of people are falling into problems before they even realise it.

If you're worried about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, you can get confidential help now 24/7 and it's free.