Hannah Hammoud

Brimbank council is calling for tougher regulations on gambling advertising and the accessibility of gambling apps, games and promotions available to children.

In a notice of motion raised by Cr Virginia Tachos at the October meeting, Cr Tachos said there has been an increase in the number of children developing gambling addictions, as well as a lack of support for parents in identifying such habits.

Cr Tachos said currently there are insufficient federal government regulations around online gambling, citing the growing presence of online sports gambling and casino apps that are infiltrating kids’ phones through promotions on social media platforms.

Cr Tachos called on both the federal and state government to provide support to children and families and to treat gambling and gamification apps as ‘health addictions’ that require specialised treatment.

“This has the potential to significantly reduce gambling harm and losses in our community and across Australia,” she said.

“… When one person gambles the whole family suffers and what we need to do is support the whole family as it is a serious health issue.”

The Victorian Responsible Gaming Foundation reports that almost a third of Victorian secondary school students have gambled. The foundation also found that one in four children can name four gambling brands or more.

“Opportunities to gamble via games and apps on computers and phones are accessible to young people 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Cr Tachos said.

“In-game purchases have the potential to become addictive and can increase a young person’s likelihood of experiencing gambling harm later in life.”

Cr Tachos said children and young people are ‘bombarded’ with gambling marketing through social media, online advertising and sports coverage.

“Losses from wagering are extremely high but the online losses are harder to measure. Local Brimbank data is not available but it is likely that Brimbank residents including children have contributed starkly to those losses,” she said.

“We know from research that communities are concerned about the proliferation and normalisation of wagering advertising in Australia and its impacts on gambling behaviour and risks of harm to young people.”

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the federal government has worked with states and territories to update the classification rules for online and video games.

“Importantly, addressing the harms caused by online wagering is not a set and forget exercise and I will continue to work closely with my state and territory counterparts on what comes next,” she said.

The state government was contacted for comment.