Betting on change: faith leaders unite against gambling ads

The Victorian Council of Churches, supported by a number of Catholic agencies, has called on the federal government to give parliamentarians a conscience vote on a complete ban on gambling advertising in Australia.

Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Social Services in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne Fr John Petrulis joined faith leaders in a launch facilitated by federal independent Tasmania MP Mr Andrew Wilkie on Friday.

‘The relentless gambling advertising has caused so much direct and indirect harm to our community,’ Fr Petrulis told the launch.

‘We all have stories in our own personal lives of people who have been affected by the harm of the relentless gambling advertising.

‘It goes to the very heart of the wellbeing of our community that the mental and social and spiritual health of our community is at stake.

‘We are advocating a vote for conscience on the banning of gambling, in our parliament, and wanting to support our politicians who are fellow members of our community.’

The federal government is yet to decide on recommendations from the joint parliamentary standing committee on social policy and legal affairs into gambling, chaired by Dunkley MP Peta Murphy, who died last year from cancer.

‘I am proud to say this committee has delivered a unanimous report that says, “enough is enough”. The committee has made 31 recommendations that apply a public health lens to online gambling to reduce harm across the whole Australian population,” Ms Murphy wrote in the foreword of the You Win Some, You Lose More report in June 2023.

But there are growing concerns that the government will water down recommendations amid a rise in problem gambling and pressure from vested interests.

The inquiry heard powerful evidence about the wide-ranging harmful effects of gambling from gamblers, their loved ones, academics, health experts, community organisations and individuals calling for more to be done.

Australians are winners at being losers and outspend citizens of every other country in online gambling, according to research.

Australia has the highest per capita gambling losses in the world. Our average annual loss per adult is $1,635 compared with the USA at $809 and New Zealand at $584, according to a just-released Grattan Institute report.

The Gambling Help Online website says Australians spend $2.9 billion each year on scratchies and lotteries, and the chances of winning Powerball first division are 1 in 134.5 million. There are up to 200,000 poker machines in Australian pubs, clubs and casinos, and 16 per cent of adults play, spending $10.2 billion per year. The odds of winning a $5000 jackpot on a $1 poker machine is 1 in 9.7 million.

Betting on sporting codes such as AFL, rugby and cricket is one of the fastest growing ways of gambling.

Australian Catholic University studies show that while gambling is often viewed as ‘harmless fun’, it leads to financial stress, strained relationships and domestic violence.

ACU research fellow at the Institute of Child Protection Studies Dr Aino Suomi said children exposed to gambling harm have higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide.

‘The most obvious impact is prolonged financial deprivation, where the family lacks money because it has been spent on gambling and the kids miss out on things like school excursions or recreational activities; they lack quality time with their parents, who might be stressed about the impacts of gambling, and their relationships become problematic in many ways,’ she said.

The Victorian Council of Churches, with members including the Uniting, Anglican, Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Lutheran churches, the Salvation Army and Quakers, has long been advocating on behalf of church communities against the rise of gambling.

As far back as 1938, it resolved to lobby the state government to regulate gambling facilities. It was concerned that there was a gradual increase in gambling by way of forecasts of racing, football and cricket events.

Catholic Social Services Victoria (CSSV)—the peak body for 45 client-facing organisations, including St Vincent de Paul, Jesuit Social Services, MacKillop Family Services, Sacred Heart Mission St Kilda, VincentCare Victoria and Cabrini Outreach—supports gambling advertising reform at a legislative level.

Its member organisations say they are often called on to help pick up the pieces of problem gambling.

CSSV’s Br Peter Dowling CFC attended the launch.

Fr Petrulis, who has been parish priest of Sacred Heart St Kilda West and St Columba’s Elwood for 18 years and has been involved with Sacred Heart Mission in both a practical and governance role, said he was concerned that young people were at risk of gambling saturation.

‘There are so many pressures already on our young people,’ he said, before you ‘add the gambling advertising that is so invading of their freedom … We want people to grow to contribute to our community more and more freely and to use their potential to build our community, not to have it eroded.

‘So, I think, the call for a conscience vote, in our parliament, simply and powerfully joins us all here as representatives to enact legislation that expresses that deep cry for us all to bring about the changes that we need for everyone to live more freely in our community, to share their gifts to build up our community, not just to bring more harm.’

Fr Petrulis said people risked being the biggest losers as they were bombarded by an ever-present call on their screens and phones to gamble.

‘Let’s not gamble with the most precious gift of our humanity, our conscience, our freedom to really contribute to our community,’ he said.

A conscience vote, or a free vote, means parliamentarians are not bound to vote with their party.

Mr Wilkie and South Australian independent MP Rebekha Sharkie, who was unable to attend Friday’s launch, said the complete ban on gambling advertising was the cornerstone of the Murphy report.

‘Regrettably, it is becoming abundantly clear that the federal government intention is a partial ban. But, of course, history shows that partial bans don’t work, and when they introduced a partial ban on tobacco advertising many decades ago now, it didn’t work,’ Mr Wilkie said.

‘Eventually they had to bring a total ban, and it has had some considerable success, I would suggest.’

Mr Wilkie said the conscience vote on gambling advertising fitted the criteria.

‘We are leading the charge in Canberra, calling for the federal government to allow a conscience vote. If the government is fearful of the gambling companies, the media companies and the sporting codes, this is an easier pathway through for the government as it becomes a decision of the parliament,’ he said.