Young North-West Coasters targeted by online gaming, sports-based gambling says gambling help service
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Flashing lights, random rewards, the thrill of a near miss - gambling has been rife in the North-West for years.
Only a few years ago Burnie's Top of the Town hotel topped a list of the state's "most harmful" pokies venues, and Devonport is regularly listed among the state's highest pokies spenders, with residents routinely spending about $1 million a month in the city's machines.
But, according to a gambling help provider, it's not the poker machines that are hooking in the next generation of problem gamblers on the Coast.
Sulphur Creek's Carlene Hutton oversees Gambler's Help, a free, statewide counselling service run by Anglicare.
She said the region certainly had a high concentrate of older people who were addicted to pokies, but that the biggest "growth market" was young people, or, more specifically, 18 to 35-year-old men with a taste for sports.
"I guess in the North-West we have a bit of a mix. What we're seeing is an increase in young people accessing our services around sports-based gambling," she explained.
"It's so socially accepted, it's cool. Young people out to the pub or the club, they have a few drinks and put a few bets on the footy or the horses or whatever.
"If we look at some of our high profile footballers ... there's some (problem gambler) cases where that's where they started."
On top of the growing sports market, Ms Hutton said there was also a large amount of research being done among an even younger audience - children and youth playing online games.
Many online and app-based games include in-game currencies that can be bought with real money, pay-per-spin prizes and opportunities to buy access to advanced levels.
"There's a whole lot of research around how that intersects with future gambling addiction," Ms Hutton said.
She said it could sometimes feel like a "losing battle" to see new generations take up forms of gambling, but that services like Gambler's Help were aimed at educating people on the risk.
"Gambling addiction can be overlooked ... it's not acknowledged like an addiction to alcohol or drugs," she said.
"People seem to believe that you can stop gambling, that it's a choice.
"There are signs: you find that they're borrowing money, they're spending more and more time gambling and not doing other stuff, they're secretive about where they're going, not being able to pay bills.
"We help people to recognise gambling harm early and get the message across that ... you're not going to win."
Do you suspect you or someone you know may have a gambling problem?
- Anglicare on 1800 243 232 or at www.anglicare-tas.org.au/gambling-support/
- Gambling Helpline Tasmania on 1800 858 858 or at www.gamblinghelponline.org.au
