Shifting Paradigms: Vision Workshop Summary

As part of the GIS hosted seminar Shifting Paradigms:Towards A Public health Approach to Gambling a vision workshop was facilitated with participants to consider the strengths and weakness of the current approach to problem gambling in NSW and develop some proposals/suggestions for the future direction of policy developments and help service s in the field. GIS Chairperson Kate Roberts has summarised some of the main issues raised through this exercise and has collated the main comments/suggestions for future direction under relevant health promotion headings.

This exercise facilitated by Johan Stansfield, CEO of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand, gave participants an opportunity to consider perceptions of the problem, and both the strength and weaknesses of the current situation with regards gambling and problem gambling in NSW. Participants were asked a series of questions and came up with ideas primarily focused on the following areas, summarised under thematic headings which emerged in collating the material.

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Governance

There were many issues raised which related to the governance of problem gambling issues within NSW. Many participants felt that there was a direct conflict of interest between the government department with the responsibility for gambling and treatment services for problem gambling (Office of Liquor Gaming - OLGR) and the fact that this office is primarily responsible for regulation of the gambling industry. Comments such as, “there are vested interests within RGF”, “There is a conflict of interest – govt, industry and help services”.

There was a general perception that gambling harm was being minimised by vested interest “Not really acknowledging the harm done – minimising the problem” and a sense that government dependence on gambling revenue was restricting appropriate policy development. There was a generals feeling of lack of transparency in governance, “Government is dependent on taxes and gambling revenue”, Government is not being transparent in its disbursements”. Money is flowing but not transparent, therefore hard to get individual information and not allowing public to access”.

In addition there was a general sense of weakness in the government’s ability to respond appropriately to problem gambling issues from this particular office “ OLGR capacity to respond is limited both by policy and the organisational culture”. “OLGR as the primary agency – has an industry regulatory focus, this causes potential conflict of interest, and doesn’t have a cultural fit with human service models”, “OLGR organisational structure creates barriers”.

Additionally, there was a belief that government and the gambling industry were I trying to shift blame for gambling problems “There is an abdication of responsibility for problem gambling by gov’t and the gambling industry – often shifting blame to individuals and help services”

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Current Policy Direction & Funding

Whist it was acknowledged that current NSW government policy was focusing on treatment for individuals and therefore developing services accordingly, it was felt that a significant weakness in this focus was to ignore those at risk of gambling problems and to pathologise the problem ‘Not looking at problem as a community issue only as an individual issue”. “Funding body restricts directly & indirectly the way we approach PG i.e. keeping it seen as an individual problem.”

It was held that this approach severely limited the effectiveness of service in building community capacity on this issues and restricted services, within in a competitive tendering environment, to work in isolation from each other and without regional strategies, “PG service working in “silos” (isolation from each other) as opposed to integrated across regions.”, “ Trying to work differently appears to be in conflict of the interests of the funding body and/or employer..” “Vested interests in maintaining the status quo” . As a result, there was a perceived lack of coordination in:

• Funding
• Central vision
• Continuity
• Resources – skills & knowledge

There was a general perception that the current model was limiting, “the limits of focussing on traditional treatment model because it’s easily measured”, “model excludes a large number of clients” and “the current approach excludes other major stakeholders e.g. local govt, counselling service, mental health services, community health, GIS, consumers etc.

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Lack of Community Awareness

The participants raised concern about the general lack of community awareness about problem gambling and frustration in trying to get messages out to the broader der community “How do we get the knowledge of gambling harm out into the public arena? Along with its causal associations” “The issue of shame, secrecy and need for client confidentiality maintains the inability of people to be self advocates”. “This tension also affects PG services - it may be a strength for PG services to be low profile but remaining low profile we don’t’ empower or advocate on behalf of our clients. This links strongly to gambling itself – winners & losers” “ Lack of understanding of the extent of harm, perspective of harm being only to the individual”.

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Suggested Solutions/Strategies (Macro)

Build Healthy Public Policy

• Commit to a public health model & get problem gambling out of OLGR and into NSW Health Dept.
• Independent body to manage funding
• Eliminate conflict of interest.
• Develop openness and transparency
• Review legislation/regulations & technical standards with a focus on product safety
• Delegation/action plan with accountability to individuals
• Transparency with where money goes.
• Develop an Integrated targeted approach to the distribution of funding
• Manage funding issues
• More money to community projects/initiatives

Reorient Health Services

• Develop a shared theory/vision
• People developing big picture approach to PG – looking outside the square.
• Develop a multifaceted PG sector including: treatment, early intervention, prevention, community capacity building etc
• Put down barriers between organisations
• Develop a holistic approach to PG
• Develop a new policy framework which incorporates this multi focus

Strengthen Community Action

• Build community capacity
• Better awareness strategies
• Integration of gambling services creates higher profile for PG and promotes community involvement
• Increase community participation and empowerment
• Develop advocacy and build strategies alliances
• Increased dialogue between government and community/PGg sector, consumers and other stakeholders.

Create Supportive Environments

• Raise community awareness:
• Educate all stakeholders including Govt & industry
• Newsletter

Develop a product safety & safe gambling practices focus:

• Consider technical changes needed for EGM product safety and safe practices
• Consider Smartcard technology
• Receipt /invoice provided to gamblers
• Promote non – gambling revenue streams in venues,
• reward those venues who do this
• Smoking policies

Develop Personal Skills

• Build skills in health promotion, community advocacy & capacity building
• Train counsellors, consumers, community members

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Suggested Solutions/Strategies (Micro)

Reorient Health Services

• Develop a unified approach which includes partnerships and a sense of joint ownership.
• Counsellors/helpers need to consider new roles e.g. public speaking, community action, coaching to clients etc
• Attending forums/workshops/meetings

Strengthen Community Action

School education

• Public address to existing community groups/churches neighbourhood centre, sporting clubs etc
• Find a celebrity gambler who can tell story with a public health/harm prevention focus

Facilitate problem gamblers and their families (clients) to develop activist skills

• Motive PG to empower themselves to become part of the reconstruction of their services.
• Very important to empower problem gamblers and their families. A very important model for advocacy. The difficultly is it is incremental.

Lobbying

• Become a squeaky wheel
• Writing letters to MP
• Radio coverage with “plants” (ask other to call in and comment)

Networking and developing a united front

• Lobby Gov’t to be more transparent
• Develop more political clout
• Seek whistle blowers

Create Supportive Environments

• Raise community awareness:
• Actual problem gamblers telling their stories not just individually but on social network.
• Consistent dissemination of information
• Newsletter

Develop Personal Skills

Better quality support groups linked to PG services for:

Stress

Anger

Relaxation

Encourages strategies & coping skills, opens people up to services. Gives a break from gambling. Also for family/support people.

Coordination of alternative activities for those affected:

Social activities

Outlets for emotional expression

Discussing Centrelink with community programs

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