The Minns Labor Government is helping spread the message of gambling harm by funding social media awareness campaigns co-designed by Aboriginal young people for Aboriginal young people.
Our Mob, Our Media, Our Message - Gambling Harm Prevention Grants of $400,000 were offered by the Office of Responsible Gambling (ORG) after a recent survey showed 10.4 per cent of Aboriginal people in NSW experience at-risk gambling, compared to 3.8 per cent across the general population.
The program acts on advice from Aboriginal stakeholders and organisations on the importance of raising awareness about gambling harm among Aboriginal youth.
It was made clear that social media is a powerful way to influence attitudes, and that for the content to be engaging and effective, it should be developed by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.
Three not-for-profit organisations with experience working with Aboriginal communities will now partner with young Aboriginal people to create culturally relevant messages about gambling harm and use social media as a tool to engage and educate them.
The three organisations awarded grants and their projects are:
- $149,620 to Souths Cares for the Souths Cares Gambling Education Campaign, a six-month digital initiative to reduce gambling harm among Aboriginal young people by using Souths Cares' community networks and the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL club brand to co-design culturally appropriate messages with youth and ambassadors. South Sydney Rabbitohs is also a partner of the NSW Government's Reclaim the Game program that enables the club to turn down sports betting sponsorships and eliminate sports betting advertising at their home games.
- $150,000 to the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation to run the Don't Get Caught in the Gambling Net Campaign, a 12-month Aboriginal youth-led campaign that will engage young people across Macarthur, Illawarra and the South Coast to co-create culturally specific media assets through on-country workshops and storytelling.
- $100,000 to the Ungooroo Aboriginal Corporation for the Ungooroo Gambling Minimisation Project, a co-designed, community-led campaign to reduce gambling harm among Aboriginal young people in the Singleton and Muswellbrook regions by empowering local voices to share lived experiences and create culturally safe, community-informed messages.
The organisations will have 18 months to deliver the educational campaigns.
Capacity building activities were incorporated into the program to support organisations to apply for, co-design and deliver their projects and meet reporting and evaluation requirements.
For more information, go to: https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/our-mob-our-media-our-message-gambling-harm-prevention-grants
Minister for Gaming and Racing and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said:
"I'm pleased to support these three organisations to create engaging social media content that encourages conversations about gambling harm and challenges attitudes around gambling.
"The Office of Responsible Gambling was established to provide support to people experiencing gambling harm, which it achieves through a range of services, including face-to-face, telephone and online counselling.
"The statistics showing the higher rates of Aboriginal people experiencing gambling harm in NSW are concerning and this partnership approach to reach young Aboriginal people will help close this unacceptable gap and ensure our goal of preventing and minimising gambling harm can be met across all communities in NSW."
Souths Rabbitohs NRL player and Souths Cares Ambassador Cody Walker said:
"Souths Cares leads the way in promoting positive messages that empower young people.
"I'm proud to support this campaign as an ambassador and help young people rethink gambling and recognise the harm it can cause."
About the organisations
Souths Cares is an independent not-for-profit public benevolent institution, delivering transformational education, employment, training and health promotion programs. It was built upon the South Sydney Rabbitohs' long and proud history of supporting the community, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation is a not-for-profit holistic Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. It provides a wide range of comprehensive, culturally safe health and wellbeing services at the highest standard possible to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the Southwestern Sydney region.
Ungooroo Aboriginal Corporation is a not-for-profit, 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned community organisation based in Singleton NSW. It provides a range of services such as health, youth support, training and employment opportunities, Aboriginal art and tourism, economic development and social inclusion services, including NDIS and mental health programs.
