Indigenous Rabbitohs players are reminding Aboriginal young people to focus on the game, not the punt in a social media campaign that encourages conversations around gambling harm.
Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, David Fifita and Tallis Duncan are fronting the first stage of the awareness campaign after Souths Cares was one of three recipients of the Office of Responsible Gambling's (ORG) Our Mob, Our Media, Our Message - Gambling Harm Prevention Grants.
Three female Rabbitohs players Nancy Sullivan, Charlize Barrett and Jaminey Weatherall will also feature in social media posts and video interviews in later stages of the campaign.
The first part of the campaign launched in July includes thought-provoking player quotes such as:
- "Sport should be about the game, not the bet."
- "The house always wins. Don't let gambling take what matters most."
- "Protect your future. Don't let a bet decide it for you."
The next component of the campaign is being rolled during NRL Indigenous Round which kicked off last night through to 16 August, and will feature statistics about gambling. The final phase to be launched in September will comprise video interviews with the players discussing gambling harm and positive messages to combat it.
The Our Mob, Our Media, Our Message social media campaign is aimed at Aboriginal young people and co-designed by them alongside not-for-profit organisations with experience working with Indigenous communities.
Souths Cares partnered with Aboriginal young people through two youth consultation workshops involving participants from three of its community programs - the Deadly Youth Mentoring Program, Nanga Mai Marri Program and the Liverpool Opportunity Hub.
Their input helped shape the campaign messaging and identify recruitment opportunities for Youth Ambassadors, ensuring the campaign was youth-led and culturally appropriate.
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation and Ungooroo Aboriginal Corporation also received funding to run co-designed social media campaigns to be launched at a later date.
The grants program was instigated by ORG after a recent survey showed around 10.4 per cent of Aboriginal people in NSW experienced 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, as well as partnering with them to create culturally relevant messages using social media as an engagement tool.
Minister for Gaming and Racing and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said:
"The Our Mob, Our Media, Our Message - Gambling Harm Prevention Grants are an important initiative to reach young Aboriginal people to prevent and minimise harm from gambling and challenge attitudes among their peers and families.
"I am excited to see Souths Cares develop such an engaging social media campaign using its star Aboriginal players as ambassadors to get the message out that you don't need to have a bet to enjoy sport.
"The Office of Responsible Gambling was established to provide support to people experiencing gambling harm through a range of services including counselling and peer support through free face-to-face sessions or via telephone or online.
"The Minns Labor Government is committed to addressing harm and recently boosted GambleAware's annual funding by $1.3 million to provide people experiencing gambling harm with greater access to support services."
Rabbitohs Five-Eighth Cody Walker said:
"Gambling is something that can have a bigger impact than people realise, and it's important that young people have the right conversations around it.
"I hope young Aboriginal people can take something from this campaign, look out for their mates and know that they can enjoy sport without needing to have a bet."
Rabbitohs Second Rower David Fifita said:
"As players, we know young people look up to us, and being a role model means speaking up about things that aren't always easy to talk about.
"The people I look up to didn't get to where they are by gambling; they got there by putting in the work. That's the message I want young people to take from this campaign."
About Souths Cares
South Cares isan 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.
