Problem gambling among Indigenous

For broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 13 Apr 2014.

New Australian research on gambling among Indigenous men and problem gambling risk factors has found that 24 per cent of a sample of Indigenous male gamblers were at moderate risk of problem gambling, and 29 per cent had gambling problems.

That is, more than half of male Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander gamblers have a gambling problem or are at moderate risk of addiction.

The research, by Southern Cross University academics Nerille Hing, Helen Breen, Ashley Gordon and Alex Russell, paints a disturbing and depressing picture of gambling problems among Indigenous Australians.

It seems that the more quality research is done into aspects of the gambling industry and its impact on Australians, the more we discover the depth of personal tragedy and the immense scale of the social problems caused by the industry’s insatiable and immoral appetite for profit at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our community.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.