Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the independent member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, in bringing this bill to the attention of the House earlier this year, and also my other crossbench colleagues, who have been vocal on the need for gambling reform to minimise gambling harm. I support the measures taken in this bill to ensure credit cards cannot be used on online gambling platforms, bringing the system in line with the ban on credit cards being used at casinos, gaming lounges and other gambling venues. However, this is just one small piece of the puzzle in tackling gambling harm.

Gambling reform is an issue close to my heart. My beloved late mother, who passed away peacefully in her sleep just over three months ago, had a gambling problem which impacted our families. It was hard for her to acknowledge, let alone overcome and seek help. As she struggled to pay her debt, our family struggled with our own mental health, trying to find ways to extract her from this damaging and addictive behaviour.

My mother's story is just one of the thousands of stories in our diverse electorate of Fowler. The Fairfield LGA, which makes up a large and dominant part of Fowler, has some of the highest levels of gambling in Australia. It has one pokie machine for every 54 people. The Sydney average is about one for every 117 people. As you can see, the concentration of pokies in our city is more than double the average. This costs my community $1.7 million in losses a day to pokies alone.

In 2021, just after COVID, our residents were losing $527 million in pokies—one of the highest pokies losses across Sydney. To put it into perspective, the neighbouring LGA, Liverpool—part of which is also in my electorate—had losses totalling $160 million. I cannot stress enough how gambling impacts our community, in the Fairfield LGA in particular. According to the Fairfield Health Alliance, 60 per cent of people screened by community organisations and GPs indicated that they experience harm from gambling either as a gambler or an affected other. Our multicultural and diverse communities want to celebrate, and 70 per cent of my constituents speak a language other than English. However, language and cultural barriers have also led to a prevalence of gambling problems, with CALD communities found to be especially at risk of gambling harm.

A study conducted by the South-West Sydney Local Health District found that gambling amongst CALD communities is a common activity and that people of Chinese or Vietnamese heritage may view gambling as a way of trying their luck or as a highly popular social activity amongst friends. Additional research in the local area found that many individuals from non-English-speaking backgrounds could not identify when they were experiencing problem gambling, as there was no way to describe it in their own culture. It was only after in-depth discussions with health professionals that they realised what they were going through. And cultural issues such as stigma and shame stop individuals who are experiencing gambling harm from seeking professional help.

Earlier this year, when the pokies were a contentious issue in New South Wales state politics, I heard from one constituent, Trong, who reached out because he wanted me to advocate on this devastating issue that was impacting his family. As he eloquently said, there is a fear of losing face within the Vietnamese community, so such issues are rarely discussed up front, which makes it hard for families to find help for those who are addicted. I can totally relate to this cry for help.

It's not just the fear of losing face but the lack of awareness that sitting in front of a poker machine and hitting those buttons for hours can lead to gambling harm. Gambling is also taking over a new generation who are perhaps moving away from poker machines but going online. When we talk about online gambling, it is not just online casinos but also sports betting, loot boxes and virtual gaming goods. While there is an abundance of data around the detrimental impacts of pokies in our area, there is a lot less data around the impact of online gambling. This is an issue that must be addressed holistically across all levels of government, whether it be pokies, sports betting or even video games. If we don't address this as part of the bigger picture, we are simply putting out one fire with our backs to another. After all, gamblers are able to jump from platform to platform.

This discussion is more pertinent than ever given that it's Gambling Awareness Week this week, I think in the ACT and New South Wales. With the cost-of-living crisis, people are becoming more desperate to make ends meet. We as decision-makers must take action to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are not preyed upon by opportunistic gambling companies, and we must ensure that future generations do not suffer through the same. It's very shocking to see that the Australian Gambling Research Centre shows that one in five Australians gamble weekly, with 38 per cent partaking in race betting, 34 per cent in sports betting and 33 per cent in pokies. In a submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs last year, Fairfield Council shared the gambling harm within the community. The local council launched the Pay to Play Youth Gambling Project, which was used to explore young people's relationships with online gambling in the area. Feedback from the program indicates that young people have very little understanding of the extent of harm that gambling can have and almost no awareness of where to find help or information.

It's also very apparent that sports betting and online gambling sites are relentless in advertising to young people via social media. It's one thing to see a Sportsbet ad during half-time at the NRL but it's another to get numerous ads every day when you are scrolling through your Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. Not only are they targeting young people with ads but companies such as Sportsbet are promoting sports betting and gambling as a social activity amongst youth with their 'bet with mates' feature.

However, it's not just betting companies that are profiteering off our vulnerable. Over the last few decades, gaming has grown from a niche industry to a very common hobby. Forty per cent of young people play video games that have gambling components in which children spend money on loot boxes and virtual gaming goods such as skins, weapons and other game upgrades. I acknowledge the member for Clark for bringing this concerning matter to the House last year. While it does not look like gambling, this has the same psychological effect on a young person's brain to having a slap on the pokies. So, if we are to talk about online gambling, this must be expanded in a broader context. We must start with risk mitigation and reduce, if not completely remove, sports betting advertising on social media for young people.

Gambling harm must be introduced into school curriculums as a mental health and social issue to the same extent as drugs and alcohol and information must be provided. Gambling advertising must also be treated in the same manner as alcohol advertising and must be restricted to young people on social media, where they're at their most vulnerable as they often are unable to be monitored. Education materials and support services should be provided to newly arrived migrants as part of the settlement progress.

I want to make special mention of two particularly inspirational young people from my electorate. Marko Pupovac and Lindsay Tang, two now year 11 students at Bonnyrigg High School, are two individuals who are passionate about gambling reform. They were so passionate they created a gambling intervention proposal for the local council as part of the CSIRO showcase at Fairfield HQ last year. As part of this, they shared their own solutions to gambling problems, with a particular focus on classifying gambling problems as a mental health issue similar to any other addiction. They also showcased clever and practical solutions, including for pokies to show total losses as well as having front-facing cameras on every machine to discourage usage over long periods of time. While I applaud the innovation and ingenuity of these students, I can't help but feel dismayed that this is what young people are focusing on in our area. It should not be the focus of 16-year-old students but the role of the government of the day to tackle this insidious issue.

However, as we have previously seen, politics and gambling often go hand in hand. Sportsbet donated $278,000 to both major political parties last financial year, including two major donations to a Labor minister's campaign. I acknowledge the New South Wales government has taken a principled stance in banning political donations from any club that offers any form of gambling, and I call on the federal government to do the same with betting companies. We need a government that is brave and willing to take a stand for the sake of our future, not governments that can be bought by fundraising dinners at Rockpool.

I note there are concerns that this ban could have unintended consequences, with the main concern being that this could drive problem gamblers to    alternative sources of funding, such as loan sharks and pawnbrokers. It could also see a rise in illegal websites that accept credit based payments, driving problem gamblers underground and further into debt. But we must start somewhere. We cannot stand idly by and watch people simply jump from one gambling platform to another and continue the intergenerational cycle of trauma by passing it on to their children.

I can accept that there is a place in society for gambling. After all, not everyone who gambles is addicted. Many people visit RSLs or bet on footy matches as a form of socialising and recreation. And this is not to say that such clubs and companies do not reinvest into the community through employment opportunities and sponsorship of local events, sports clubs and community organisations. However, there must be enough reinvestment back into the community that it ultimately brings more benefit to the community than it would have received without them. In other words, the investment must be net positive.

Overall, while I don't think this government has gone far enough in addressing the harmful effects of problem gambling, I believe this is a good place to start. The government has promised to do better. The community deserves better from the gambling industry. We will be watching closely and holding the government to account on this.

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