This was a response from a 16-year-old boy in one of our recent studies when asked what he would say to the prime minister about gambling in Australia.
This response is not uncommon.
Calls for action
Even before they can legally gamble at the age of 18, young people recognise the harms that the gambling industry (and those who profit from gambling, such as sporting codes) can cause to Australians.
And they are frustrated by a lack of government action to protect them from these harms.
They tell us that rather than prioritising the wellbeing of the community, the government is prioritising the profits of a harmful business.
Politicians are also hearing concerns about gambling from the young people they represent in their communities.
Urging parliamentary action on gambling advertising, former Australian rugby captain and Independent ACT Senator David Pocock told parliament:
Talk to parents and young people. They’ll name all the gambling companies. They’ll be able to recite odds. They’ll talk about the odds for the upcoming games of their favourite teams. What I’m hearing from people here in the ACT that I represent is that this is not the direction they want to go in.
Starting young
For more than a decade, our team has been talking to young people and their parents about the normalisation of gambling in Australia. We have carried out multiple studies that show how pervasive marketing tactics are normalising gambling for young Australians.
Young people tell us they see innovative marketing strategies for different gambling products (including betting, lotteries and casinos) everywhere, including during family-friendly television shows, through watching and attending sport and even while walking down the street.
They increasingly see promotions on social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat.
It’s time to act
Government decisions about how to respond to the gambling industry will have a major impact on young people’s futures. But young people have rarely (if ever) been given an opportunity by the government to put forward their views.
Research shows when they are given the opportunity to comment on gambling policy (and gambling industry tactics), they carefully consider the issues. They are also able to use their own experiences to suggest strategies that would help protect them and other young people from gambling industry harm.
The United Nations states children have the right to be consulted about issues that matter to them and impact their futures. This includes strengthening engagement with children and young people, recognising their “agency, resilience and their positive contributions as agents of change”.
Young people have been central actors in the climate justice movement, and have been key stakeholders in initiatives to respond to the tactics of the junk food and tobacco industries.
While we talk a lot about the impact of the gambling industry on young people, governments rarely consult them about the policies that are needed to protect them from harm.
Yet their message to the government in our research is clear. They:
- are concerned about the influence of gambling marketing on the normalisation of gambling for young people, and its short and long-term impacts
- believe current restrictions aimed at protecting young people are ineffective
- are critical of the overwhelmingly positive messages about gambling they are exposed to, with very limited information about the risks and harms associated with the industry and its products.
The following comment from a 15-year-old sums it up best:
The wellbeing of the population is more important than the revenue that comes in from these sorts of businesses.
View the original article on The Conversation
Read more about our researchers Dr Hannah Pitt, Grace Arnot, Professor Samantha Thomas, and Dr Simone McCarthy.
