Public Forum 2007

Shifting Paradigms: Towards A Public Health Approach To Gambling

On Monday May 7th the GIS will launch its fourth Responsible Gambling Awareness Week with a forum/seminar in Sydney looking at public health approaches to Gambling. Why this topic? Well to quote Korn and Shaffer in their 1999 journal article, Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a public health perspective: “Curiously the public health perspective has been absent from contemporary dialogue on gambling—related problems. Contemporary public health perspectives can address not only the biological and behavioural dimensions related to gambling and health, but also the social and economic determinants such as income, employment and poverty. A public health viewpoint also can lead to the design of more comprehensive and effective strategies for preventing and treating gambling-related problems. In addition, a public health perspective encourages public policy makers to distinguish acceptable from unacceptable risks”

Korn and Shaffer go on to state there are “an array of advantages associated with the adoption of a public health strategy for understanding, responding and regulating gambling related matters” and in their article encourage the adoption of a public health approach to gambling.

In the same year as this article, the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Australia's Gambling industries also encouraged a Public Health Approach to this issue recommending interventions along a continuum of gambling from social gambling to pathological gambling behaviour. Since this report there have been a number of public policy initiatives and programs developed across States, Territories and the Commonwealth in Australia with regards problem gambling and harm minimization (Banks, 2002). Although one could argue that we have been rather slow in adopting a public health model in NSW.

A public health approach to problem gambling promotes a sociological understanding of behaviour accepting the likely influences on individual behaviours from a range of social, cultural, political, institutional and environmental factors and places the problem clearly within an epidemiological framework

In 2003 our neighbours in New Zealand fully adopted this approach with the Gambling Act 2003. This act incorporates a “pubic health approach” to gambling policy. Enshrining this approach in legislation has the benefit of creating an environment that is conducive to extending supportive non-regulatory measures to limit gambling

This Public Forum will explore the benefits of such an approach to gambling, consider where we are in NSW with regards this approach and where do we want to be heading.

Guest Speakers include :

•John Stansfield -CEO, Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand

•Dr Kawahi De Silva - Director of Public Health, Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand,

•Gabriela Byrne – Director of the Free Yourself Program & Convenor of the Third Place Project, a community response to problem gambling in Victoria including partners Yarra Shire Council and Swinburne University.

There will also be presentations from problem gambling practitioners who have been incorporating this approach into aspects of their work.

The GIS is hosting this forum in an effort to raise awareness about this approach to gambling and create an opportunity for education and information sharing. We hope that a variety of stakeholders will attend including problem gambling counsellors, financial counsellors, community workers, people affected by problem gambling, gambling industry representatives, local government and State government representatives and anyone else interested n gambling issues.

There will be opportunities to workshop ideas and hopefully come up with some priorities for future action and development in NSW. So please join us on Monday May 7th, 9.30 am —4.30 pm

Wesley Conference Centre

220 Pitt St

Sydney

Cost $50 includes lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments. Booking essential as numbers limited (refer program outline & registration form below). Phone 02 44215 077

www.gisnsw.org.au/RGAW2007Invitation.doc

www.gisnsw.org.au/RGAW2007Program.doc

www.gisnsw.org.au/RGAW2007Registration.doc

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