Groups gather for betting harm talk

WITH Monday marking the start of Gambling Harm Awareness Week, a free panel discussion is set to take place the following day on the impact of betting in the region.

Organised by the Ballarat Gambling Harm Prevention Taskforce, the event will include several guest speakers, and a performance from advocacy group Three Sides of the Coin.

Lynda Genser organised last year’s panel at Barkly Square and will host next week’s even and has been a recovering gambling addict for 17 years.

Now a member of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s Lived Experience, or LEX, committee, she said it’s important to have discussions about the harm gambling can bring.

“If you can help one person, you’ve got somebody who is changing their life and that changes the lives of those around them too,” she said.

“1992 was the start of the pokies in Victoria. I went one night with my friends and I got hooked. From 1992 until 2006, I lost everything I had except for my children.

“The threat of not being able to see one of my grandchildren… [made me] give it my all, and I stopped cold turkey.”

With this year’s theme of ‘talk, share, support’ in mind other speakers include LEX co-chair and Not a Dollar More podcast creator Shayne Rodgers, Cafs therapeutic counsellor Anthony Varenica, and recovering gambler Dan Irwin.

Cafs community engagement officer Linda Borner echoed Ms Genser’s sentiment, saying gambling effects more than just the person doing it.

“For every one person that gambles, there’s at least six other people affected by it,” she said.

“All the services we offer at Cafs are for affected others. Gambling can affect anyone. It does not discriminate.”

The event is being supported by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the City of Ballarat, Cafs, Ballarat Community Health, and the Ballarat East Neighbourhood House.

The City of Ballarat’s cap for the number of electronic gaming machines allowed in the region is about 664 units, while there are about a dozen less than that currently active.

Mayor Cr Des Hudson said the community is impacted every year by gambling.

“Last year alone, $64.3 million was lost just through electronic gaming machines,” he said.

“This is not just about EGMs, this is about the entire spectrum of gambling opportunities and how we reduce the harm.”

As part of the first legislation introduced by new Premier Jacinta Allan, gaming areas in nearly every venue in Victoria are to be shut between 4am and 10am by mid-next year.

The free Gambling Harm Awareness Week event will take place at Town Hall on Tuesday 17 October from 11am to 2pm, and can be registered for at the Ballarat East Neighbourhood House website.