While many Tasmanians enjoy gambling as a form of entertainment, the Tasmanian Liberal Government remains committed to preventing and reducing gambling harms.
The Tasmanian Government’s “Know your odds” campaign was aimed at encouraging Tasmanians to think about how much they are spending gambling, and reduce the amount lost.
An independent review of the campaign was recently finalised by EMRS, and confirms that our investment is having a positive impact, with more than half of the respondents confirming they had already taken action or considered a reduction in the amount of money they spend on gambling.
Key findings also show 83 per cent of Tasmanians surveyed found the campaign to be effective to some degree, and 69 per cent had some awareness of the campaign.
Most importantly, the key messages scored highly for their clarity, with the lowest rating being 80 per cent and the highest 96 per cent with a considerable proportion of respondents recalling the exact wording of the campaign.
We do acknowledge that some respondents believe the campaign won’t lead to behavioural change, and this will be considered in the development of the next round of the “Know Your Odds” campaign, which will be funded through the Gambling Support Program.
As well, we are currently working with Anglicare and YNOT to review supports for younger Tasmanians, to help young people and parents to understand gambling, including the growing intersection between gaming and gambling, focussed on and informed by young people.
The consultation will form a base for the development of a targeted campaign and resources informed and developed with young people.
As well, a levy on the State’s electronic gaming machines will fund more than $400,000 in grants to help community organisations implement programs that will prevent and reduce harms from gambling.
The 2021-22 Community Support Levy grants round funded 21 projects at 20 organisations for $409,788 across three categories including:
*Innovation project grants for a project to address sports betting and projects to support people in multicultural communities who are impacted by gambling;
*Community project grants for a project to build a workshop space for skills development therapy, a project to develop a regional disability disaster plan and a project to build community through cooking classes, shared meals and food relief; and
*Small equipment grants for a range of projects including gardening projects, kids clubs, technology upgrades, art projects, whitegoods replacements and sports equipment.
The full list of grants is available at:
https://www.communities.tas.gov.au/disability-community-services/gambling/grants/recipients_of_charitable_organisations_grant_programs
And the Know your odss Evaluation Report can be found at:
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