SUPPORTING GAMBLING AWARENESS PROGRAM LEADERSHIP IN FNGAP

This report provides an overview of the recommendations and key findings from works commissioned by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation for interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing in Victoria. Through Indigenous methodologies and in partnership with the First Nations Gambling Awareness Program (FNGAP) deliverers, including staff in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in Victoria, the report highlights the need to provide balanced information on the benefits and risks of gambling. In pre-colonial times, gambling was a feature of First Nations societies. To this day, gambling can be a fun experience, if done with mindfulness and people are provided opportunities to say no to others, pressuring them to increase their gambling amount and frequency. When gambling is done in our own community contexts, we have seen people and projects be supported through raffles and games that provide the opportunity to ‘win big’. On the flip side of our in-community experiences of gambling, and particularly in a post COVID economic climate, many companies target First Nations people for ‘easy money’, as evidenced by targeted campaigns that create the environment for mobile phone gambling. Therefore, it is important to work up a strategy to destigmatise harmful gambling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These approaches require collaborative efforts from government, service providers and community members. By increasing awareness, involving communities, developing and delivering services through a ‘cultural lens’ it is possible to address the root causes of harmful gambling, reduce the impact of harmful gambling and prevent harmful gambling overall. The FNGAP, in partnership with the Foundation, needs to discuss how to implement recommendations made in this report, particularly those focused on achieving positive outcomes and addressing emerging trends and issues in communities. Critical in this work will be delivering policies, programs and services that support and coach people toward achieving their financial aspirations, particularly as families receive reparations, and in these Treaty times. As such, the report focuses on areas such as training, funding, reporting and access to support services that acknowledge culture as the protective factor for our families. The report also emphasises the importance of confidentiality, incorporating place-based cultural knowledge and values, taking a multigenerational and trauma informed approach; of building capacity, engaging in campaigns and promoting community ownership. Also critical is the need to evaluate the outcomes of program delivery to ensure the realisation of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s commitment to effective and sensitive interventions.