Gambling impact on at-risk gamblers in the Northern Territory

Reports showing the significant social cost of gambling in the Northern Territory and its impact on Aboriginal communities have been made public by the NT government after the ABC requested copies.

The Social Costs of Gambling Harms in the Northern Territory Report, conducted by the Menzies School of Health Research, estimated the impact of gambling on at-risk gamblers and harm to others costs the Territory more than $190 million a year.

The authors said the estimated cost was likely to be relatively conservative, because there were some factors that could not be measured, such as the impact of gambling on children.

The cost of gambling was estimated to be around one-eighth of the harms from alcohol in the Territory.

Another report on online gambling stated that there was an urgent need to change regulations across the industry.

There should be better enforcement of regulations, legislation and code of conduct, rather than placing all the responsibility of the gambler, especially for gamblers with indications of addiction. In a report on gambling among Indigenous Territorians, more than 40 per cent of First Nations people living in regional areas who already engaged in gambling behaviours were categorised as either moderate-risk or problem gamblers.

The findings resulted in a suite of recommendations to the government to help reduce gambling-related harms, including :

Gambling support services in remote areas are provided with services designed specifically for Aboriginal people.

The NT government has suspended applications for pokies licences at Alice Springs pubs and hotels for nine months after widespread community backlash.

Paech said that he was considering a number of changes to the gambling policy as a result of a review of the licence application process.

He said that everything should be on the table as we work through this because supporting people in our community and supporting people who have addictive behaviours to overcome those challenges is really important.

The Attorney General, Mr Paech, said he had heard the community's concerns loud and clear and would take more action on harm minimisation in gambling.

He said that with gaming and with problem gamblers there needs to be good harm minimisation practices in place to support people.

You can only look nationally around the country with the settings that are in WA, Queensland, and very recently in Tasmania where they have brought in a number of reforms where they monitor how much people spend every year. Gambling taxes remain a major revenue stream for the NT government because of the growing scrutiny of casino and gambling operators across the country.

For 2020- 21 the government reported an increase of $14.6 million in casino and gambling taxes, which is likely due to a delay in demand for recreational gambling due to the closing of pokies venues due to COVID- 19.