Betting isn't gambling, is it?

A worrying trend seems to be appearing in some of the recent research into youth gambling. At Wednesday's Youth Forum Tim Corney, Manager - Member Services at Incolink, an organisation who provides support services to the building industry presented a snapshot into their research into problem gambling amongst apprentices and young workers in the construction industry. (This is another Local Community Partnerships Project.)

An interesting point that he made was many of the respondents so far said that they participated in activities such as betting on street drag racing, dog fights, billiards and other non-legal forms of gambling, however they didn't call this gambling.

The today I read the latest issue of the Responsible Gambling Council of Ontario, Canada's (RGCO) Newslink magazine which had a feature article by Jamie Wiebe titled "Tween" Gambling - A Glimpse Into Gambling "Preschool" This article had an interesting quote which matched up with the Incolink research (although for a younger age group)

They like to bet their friends, whatever the topic - whether it's who knows what, who can run faster, sporting events, cards or other games. They do not consider these activities to be "gambling" but "betting." Gambling was not a word they appeared comfortable using to describe their own behaviour.

When talking to youth should we be talking about problems with betting rather than gambling? Are they the same? Or is gambling the grown-up more formal version of betting? Let me know what you think!

GG

Youth Forum - Young People: Gambling and Problem Gambling

Yesterday GG attended the Young People: Gambling and Problem Gambling youth forum held by the Gambler's Help Youth Action Group (YAG) and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVIC).

A full conference hall saw the Victorian Minister of Community Services, Cheryl Garbutt launch the long awaited G-PACK youth gambling resource kit. This kit which is available from Gambler's Help Southern (PDFs will soon be available on the GH Southern website) is a great resource for young people or those involved with young people such as youth workers, and school welfare workers. It has a wide range of information on gambling specifically targeted at the needs of a youth audience.

A feature of the forum was the screening of a video of Jade, a young woman who has experienced problem gambling and with the help of a counsellor at Gambler's Help conquered her problem. She shared how gambling affected her and her thoughts on what could be done about it. This was a courageous thing to do and she should be commended for it.

Also speaking were Heather Secomb, a Student Welfare Coordinator, who talked about her experiences with students affected by their own gambling or the gambling of a family member. She stressed that gambling is a problem with youth but workers just aren't looking for it.

Heather was followed by Prof. Alun Jackson from Melbourne University who presented the results of research in youth gambling worldwide. The statistics are significant and his notes will be put on the GH Southern website when available.

Overall it was a highly successful morning and congratulations have to go to YAG and YACVIC for putting youth gambling back on the agenda. A special congratulations to Gambler's Help Southern's own YAG member Tracey Collins who has put in significant effort over many years to get G-PACK to its final result.

GG

Discussion Paper - Impacts of EGM Technology Released

Most people acknowledge that there isn't enough research into the effects of modern poker machines (EGMs). Charles Livingstone and his team at the Australian Institute for Primary Care at La Trobe University here in Melbourne have just released a paper "Contexts, characteristics and impacts of EGM technology".

This paper has been prepare as part of the consultation process for gathering more information for the final report which is being prepared for the Gambling Research Panel.

The paper focuses on four main areas:

• the characteristics of EGM technology and systems
• the consumption of EGM gambling
• the regulation of EGM gambling
• the relationship between EGM technology, gambling participation and harm.

The Gambling Guru and my colleagues here at Gambler's Help Southern were consulted during the development of this paper and you can see some of GG's work reproduced and cited in the paper.

I will publish my notes on the paper once I have fully read it.

GG

Welcome to GuruBlog

Welcome to GuruBlog. The Blog of Gambler’s Help Southern’s Gambling Guru.

This blog will aim to educate and inform the wider world about gambling issues in Victoria, Australia and internationally with a specific focus on trying to reduce the potential for harm through making useful information accessible to the average person.

Hopefully reading this blog will be informative, emotive and hopefully enjoyable.

If you do have concerns about your gambling and are based in Victoria, Australia please contact Gambler’s Help on 1800 156 789 - 24 hours.