Five professional sports clubs are backing the Here for the Game government initiative: Adelaide United Football Club, the Adelaide Crows, Adelaide 36ers, Adelaide Thunderbirds and Adelaide Giants. Photo: SA Government.
Sporting clubs across South Australia are being invited by the State Government to join its new community program fighting gambling harm.
The government has put $1 million into the Here for the Game Community Program, which the Alcohol and Drug Foundation will use over four years to facilitate its work.
More than 50 community clubs have already signed on to the program that celebrates those rejecting sports betting and sponsorships. The program also educates club members and supporters on their risks, along with ways to identify and resist techniques used by companies trying to entice young people into betting.
South Australia’s Human Services Minister Nat Cook said the program had attracted widespread support from the community, citing fan surveys that overwhelmingly backed their team’s involvement and rejection of sports betting sponsorships.
“I encourage more community clubs to jump on board the Here for the Game Community Program and help us spread the word to disrupt gambling harm at the grassroots level,” she said.
This program is part of the State Government’s Minimising Gambling Harm in South Australia Investment Plan (2021-2026).
According to the plan, as of 2018, 65 per cent of South Australian adults gamble – 40,000 of whom are engaging in high or moderate-risk gambling each year. It also details that in the 2018-29 financial year alone, the people of South Australia lost $1 billion to gambling.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation CEO Dr Erin Lalor AM said the pilot program would work to ensure clubs and their members could be positive role models in working to reduce harm at a grassroots level.
“We’re using 25 years of learnings from Australia’s largest community health sports program, Good Sports, and leveraging its methodology and extensive network, to deliver the Here for the Game Community Program,” Dr Lalor said.
“Most gambling harm is ‘invisible’, so it’s hard to know who’s experiencing it, but gambling has a ripple effect on the community – for each person who gambles at high-risk levels, six other people are affected.
“We also know that gambling and alcohol are related issues, and through this pilot, we’ll be able to gather even more evidence about the relationship between them and identify what works to address these issues at a local level.”
Earlier this year, the South Australian Government tabled new laws that could lift the current maximum fine for casino operators’ misconduct from $100,000 to $75 million.
This legislation was introduced after the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) took civil action against the operators of SkyCity Adelaide in December.
The financial intelligence agency’s investigation allegedly found serious and systemic non-compliance with federal anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
AUSTRAC also claimed the casino operators failed to carry out due diligence on 124 customers – a breach that can result in fines of more than $2 billion.
In May, SkyCity Adelaide agreed to pay a $67 million penalty over its misconduct in a joint submission with AUSTRAC to the Federal Court of Australia.
The Here for the Game program is free to join and clubs can register their interest in participating online.
