A David Pocock-led discussion has strengthened calls to implement Peta Murphy’s recommendations on gambling.
At a recent Canberra roundtable, the AMA was among many voices calling for gambling the government to act on long-standing recommendations for gambling reform.
Initiated by independent senator David Pocock, the roundtable saw experts and advocates join together to emphasise the need for gambling advertisement reform.
This attendance from the AMA follows its statement made in June calling for the federal government to adopt the recommendations made in the ‘You win some, you lose more’ parliamentary inquiry.
“We want kids and young people playing sport and having their heroes without a constant stream of gambling advertising,” AMA ACT president and AMA federal councillor Dr Kerrie Aust said.
“We have a whole generation of young Australians growing up now who think that gambling is just a normal part of being Australian, that it’s a normal part of watching sport,” Mr Pocock said.
“We have to put our communities, we have to put young people, ahead of vested interests, ahead of profits, when it comes to gambling advertising in this country.
“There is no excuse.”
The parliamentary inquiry, led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, delivered 31 unanimous recommendations, all of which the federal government has made no progress on.
According to a report from Equity Economics, Australians are losing $31.5 billion per year to gambling, topping the list for highest per capita losses in the world.
That number now eclipses what the government currently spends on aged care and is on par with NDIS spending.
The AMA has reiterated its calls for the establishment of an independent gambling regulator along with stricter regulation on advertisements targeting children.
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Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja was also present at the roundtable, stating that the federal government has been “100% too slow” to act on gambling reform.
“The relationship that young kids are having with gambling is scary and it’s dangerous,” Khawaja said.
“We are normalising gambling for the younger generation.
“There are 16-year-olds with gambling accounts and they cannot watch the game without putting a bet on.”
Regulatory vacuums present in the current gambling management have been exploited by gambling companies due to a lack of government action.
The RACGP has emphasised the potential of general practice to open conversations on the health effects of gambling into the mainstream.
“For us, in general practice in Australia, we’re really fortunate because there are funded specialist gambling help organisations all around Australia,” RACGP’s addiction chair Dr Hester Wilson told The Medical Republic back in June.
“The evidence is that can take people up to 10 years to actually reach out and look for help for their gambling.
“That’s why it’s so important for us as GPs to open that conversation, to let patients that we’re seeing know that we are happy to talk about this.”
