MPs have called for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the impact of advertising on children and young people by harmful industries after revelations by Guardian Australia of a 16% rise in young people seeking help for gambling in the last financial year.
The call, led by Dr Sophie Scamps, has been supported by the Greens and fellow Independent MPs including Andrew Wilkie, Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel and Kate Chaney. Scamps said without action, advertising targeting children “at this vulnerable stage of life could create a generation of young people addicted to gambling”.
“It’s staggering that we have allowed gambling to become so normalised and advertised so widely in this country that gambling harm is now increasingly common in school-age children,” Scamps, a former emergency department doctor, said.
“Gambling harm has become a major public health issue in Australia. Families that just want to watch the footy or a game of cricket together are bombarded with gambling ads with many of these ads disguised as so-called analysis of the game. The issue is only going to get worse unless government intervenes.”
Young people told Guardian Australia they are entering adulthood grappling with depression, debt and relationship breakdowns after gambling from as young as 10.
Schools also reported that they are increasingly tackling the impacts of gambling on students’ education and brain development. Scamps said gambling addiction leads to major individual and social harms such as crime, violence, job loss, debt, mental distress and even loss of life.
A joint study between Federation University and the coroner’s court of Victoria, released last month, found that between 2009 and 2016, 184 of 4,788 suicide deaths in the state were gambling related. Fourteen of those were 17- to 24-year-olds.
“We need an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the impact of harmful industry advertising on children, adolescents and young adults,” Scamps said.
It follows reporting by Guardian Australia that the vaping industry also continues to target children despite reforms under way that will see vaping stores shut down, with dual lolly-vape stories opening close to schools.
The assistant minister for mental health, Emma McBride, said the government is committed to protecting vulnerable Australians from gambling harms and is “carefully considering” the recommendations of a report which came out of the House of Representatives’ inquiry into online gambling.
However, public health experts have said more measures are needed, including education campaigns free from industry influence, a complete ban on gambling sponsorships during sporting events and on sport uniforms, and an independent body uninfluenced by the gambling industry to impose penalties for breaches.
The independent MP Kate Chaney said gambling companies, sporting codes and media outlets are already lobbying the federal government to ignore recommendations made by the Senate inquiry into online gambling.
She frequently hears stories from people in her electorate of Curtin, in Western Australia, about young people losing money to gambling, with some saying they have lost as much as $100,000.
“And shame associated with it makes them hesitant to discuss their problems,” she said.
Chaney said an inquiry would help governments to better understand how young people are being targeted by harmful industries on social media.
“The ‘personal responsibility’ narrative doesn’t work when it’s not a fair fight,” Chaney said. “Gambling companies have sophisticated information about young people through their social media and online gambling behaviour – they understand your behaviour better than you do, and they will use it to their advantage.”
Daniel said she also hears “all the time that children in my electorate are gambling on their phones”.
“The 16% increase in the number of young people contacting Gambling Help Online directly points to the urgent need for an immediate and total ban on gambling advertising, as outlined in my private member’s bill tabled in parliament earlier this year,” she said.
Greens spokesperson for gambling, Janet Rice, said both major parties are “too close to the gambling industry and are too afraid to take them on.”
“Gambling causes enormous harm to individuals, their families and communities. Yet Labor and the Liberals continue to receive millions of dollars in political donations from the gambling industry,” Rice said.
“The Greens are calling for a National Independent Gambling Regulator and a total ban on all gambling advertising. We need a consistent approach to gambling – not a patchwork of regulations and loopholes that gambling companies can exploit.”
Wilkie said the gambling industry “enjoys significant political power, not least with political donations and fear among politicians that the gambling companies can influence election outcomes”.
“I support Sophie Scamps’ push for an inquiry into harmful advertising,” he said. “Our children are bombarded with ads for everything from gambling to fast food and soft drinks.”
He said he was “shocked at the number of young people who have contacted Gambling Help Online in the last financial year”.
“It’s far above what I feared.”
Ryan also supported an inquiry, saying harmful industries are affecting the development of children’s capacity to learn.
“The parts of the brain that are involved in disorders kids have, whether it is addiction to vaping or to gambling, also affects their mood, their ability to self-regulate, and their ability to maintain concentration,” she said.
“There are so many public health implications, whether we’re talking about impact on mental health, or co-morbidities like substance abuse.”
Are you a parent or teacher concerned about youth gambling? Tell us your experience
Gamblers Help: 1800 858 858. Other crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
