Spearheaded by the Essendon Football Club, the Victorian Elite Sport Gambling Taskforce will coordinate regular forums where club executives, managers and key athletes from all the major sporting codes will have an opportunity to: hear from experts; listen to athletes’ personal experiences with gambling; discuss ways to identify and address gambling in sport; and develop a framework for tackling social issues in the sporting arena.
Gambler’s Help, the Victorian Government’s information and support service, will provide representatives and counsellors to assist the Taskforce in examining this important social issue. They will discuss the broader impact on families and the community while assisting sporting bodies to identify problem gambling, educating them on how to address it and informing them of where to go for help.
The forum will actively engage debate and discussion on the issues surrounding the often hidden issue of problem gambling within sport, while seeking a united approach by elite sporting groups to tackle it head on.
In order to maintain the momentum from the first forum, it is hoped there will be ‘roundtable’ discussions with key representatives from each AFL club and sporting body every six months.
Essendon Chief Executive Peter Jackson and Bombers star Scott Lucas launched the Taskforce at Windy Hill.
‘As an AFL club, and one which is heavily involved in the community, we hold a unique position of influence,’ said Mr Jackson.
‘The Taskforce is about involving all levels of elite sport – from CEO’s and club managers to the players. From Essendon’s perspective I am behind this initiative 100 percent and our approach extends through all the layers of the Club.
‘The Essendon Football Club and the Victorian Government established a partnership 18 months ago to help tackle gambling-related issues through a number of Club and public awareness activities.
‘But the issue is not just a problem within the AFL. We now see an ideal opportunity to broaden our involvement by linking with other sporting organisations in the development of the Victorian Elite Sports Gambling Taskforce.’
The initiative will be Victorian-based at the outset, however its success could see the plan extended to a national audience with the outcomes used as a benchmark for tackling problem gambling in all levels of sport.
‘Gambling has the potential to be a big issue for AFL players, particularly young players, who are at risk of developing problems,’ said Scott Lucas.
‘While many Victorians enjoy the entertainment value of gambling, for some it has become a problem for them, their families and the community. These issues don’t discriminate and we are seeing gambling problems in all arenas of life, including sport,’ he said.
Essendon Football Club operates two gaming venues in Victoria – their partnership with the Victorian Government is about encouraging responsible gambling and training our staff and patrons to recognise the warning signs of gambling becoming a problem.
The Taskforce was launched at Essendon Football Club as part of the launch of Responsible Gambling Awareness Week - May 21 to 27 - in Victoria.
Responsible Gambling Awareness Week is a major state-wide partnership between the State government, the Interchurch Gambling Taskforce, Gambler’s Help Services, the Salvation Army, Tabcorp, Tattersall’s, Crown Ltd, ClubsVIC, the Austrlaian Hotels Association Victoria and various Local governments. The theme of the week is ""Gamble Responsibly. Stay in control.""
