Australia
$1.5 MILLION IN GAMBLING HARM PREVENTION GRANTS AWARDED
Community organisations across NSW have been awarded more than $1.5 million for local gambling prevention and harm minimisation projects under the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling’s Local Prevention Grants Program.
These projects will support the community to make informed decisions about gambling, break down stigma and encourage people to seek advice and support.
Director of the Office of Responsible Gambling, Natalie Wright, said the projects being funded are instrumental in the work of the Office to prevent gambling harm.
“By funding local responses, we are enabling community organisations to meet the unique needs of their communities and of priority populations,” Ms Wright said.
“We know each community has unique challenges, which is why it was encouraging to see the diverse nature of these projects that address the different issues faced in at-risk communities.
“Through the grants, we aim to raise awareness about gambling harm by encouraging people to get involved, understand the risks and make informed decisions about gambling – something that is paramount in communities most vulnerable to gambling harm.”
A total of 14 projects have been funded, targeting a diverse population including projects with a focus on Aboriginal communities, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, youth, and regional NSW.
Projects include a mix of educational programs for parents and teens, gambling and financial literacy workshops, advertising campaigns aimed at breaking down the stigma of gambling and barriers to help-seeking, and CALD-specific responsible gambling programs.
The grant recipients include:
– CatholicCare Social Services for the Blue Mountains
– Fairfield City Council
– Granville Multicultural Community Centre
– Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast
– Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury
– Lifeline North Coast (NSW)
– Macedonian Australian Welfare Association NSW
– Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation
– Northern United Rugby League Club
– Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania)
– University of Sydney
– University of Technology Sydney
– Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service
– Wesley Community Services
The Office recognises that a whole-of-community response involving partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders is integral in preventing and reducing gambling harm.
For more information about the projects, please visit the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling website.
The full list of funded projects is here:
CatholicCare Social Services for the Blue Mountains: Off-Screen & Smart Play
CatholicCare Social Services for the Blue Mountains provides services in low-income and vulnerable communities. The project Off-Screen & Smart Play will target parents and school-aged children from these communities, to increase awareness and provide strategies for families on dealing with screen time and cyber safety. The project will highlight risks associated with gambling harm in these communities and educate families about the risks of gambling for young people online.
Working with local schools, the project will be run as workshops during school holidays and after-hours programs.
Grant amount: $20,376
Fairfield City Council: Responsible Gambling Community of Practice Facilitation
Fairfield City Council will build capacity of local organisations and community workers through the establishment of a responsible gambling Community of Practice focused on education, innovation and collaboration.
The aim of the project is to educate, facilitate, promote, train and build capacity of local community organisations, community workers and practitioners to deliver best practice prevention and gambling harm reduction programs in the Fairfield LGA. In addition, the project will leave a legacy of culturally and locally appropriate training resources and community awareness collateral
Fairfield Local Government Area is one of the most diverse communities in NSW with 54% of the population overseas born. It also has one of the highest rates of gambling in NSW.
Grant amount: $191,000
Granville Multicultural Community Centre: My Money, My Way
With a focus in the Cumberland Local Government Area, the My Money, My Way project by Granville Multicultural Community Centre will raise awareness of gambling harm and build capacity for the community to address moderate and problem gambling. The project will empower young people to make informed choices, and better understand the potential impact of gambling on them and their future.
Participants will be involved in workshops covering topics such as gambling advertising, the risks associated with certain types of gambling, cyber safety, self-regulation and strategies to minimise gambling risk.
Through personal pathway plans, participants will be able to set their own goals, create links for referral to support pathways and monitor their personal progress. Participants will have the opportunity to design a peer-focused support program orientated to their specific needs.
Grant amount: $98,952
Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast: Broken Hill Gambling Harm Awareness Program
This project aims to prevent and reduce gambling harm in Broken Hill, a small and isolated community in Far West NSW. It will support the community to make informed decisions about gambling, reduce stigma, encourage help-seeking, and connect people who need help with support services.
The project will deliver a targeted local awareness campaign, including radio and cinema advertising, seminars and three special educational events with guest speakers.
The project will develop creative and informative resources for ongoing distribution throughout Broken Hill’s pubs and clubs and further afield to other communities in Far West NSW.
Grant amount: $194,000
Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury: Financial Life-Skills – Don’t get ripped off
The project will develop and present a Financial Literacy Workshop to be offered to young people aged 16 to 24 in the Northern Sydney area. The workshop will address the fundamentals of how young people can manage their finances to reach their financial goals and will focus on the risks and potential harms of gambling. Lifeline’s financial counsellors, with many years of experience, will present the workshop, which has been developed with young men, particularly young tradespersons, as they are at risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Grant amount: $10,575
Lifeline North Coast (NSW): Reduce the stigma radio campaign
The project is a focused radio campaign aimed at educating and creating community awareness of gambling problems. It will reduce stigma and overcome barriers to help-seeking. It will target young men in with an additional focus on Aboriginal and CALD communities. It will be rolled out over six-months using radio stations listened to by the target demographic.
The Reduce the stigma radio campaign aims to address the major barrier to help-seeking behaviours by providing clear and simple messaging and avenues for help. Many people within the community listen to popular radio programs during work and study, and by providing key messages and creating awareness, this project aims to educate and strengthen the motivation to seek help over a six-month period.
Grant amount: $25,000
Macedonian Australian Welfare Association NSW: Preventing Gambling Harm in Multicultural Communities
This project aims to prevent and reduce gambling harm and promote responsible gambling within culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities (in particular Macedonian, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian communities) in South-East and South-West Sydney, to improve community health and safety related to gambling.
The project will include an educational campaign, delivered in Macedonian and in other former Yugoslav languages, to raise awareness of gambling and gambling harm, including two large educational events and forums and a monthly outreach group of education workshops. A production of a culturally appropriate marketing tools about gambling harm will be developed and distributed.
A whole-of-community education approach will be used, where community members who are at risk of gambling harm and their families are involved. The project will work collaboratively with local ethnic businesses and cultural and religious groups, local council, police, NSW Health and local clubs.
Grant amount: $58,125
Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation: Women’s Gambling Awareness Rugby League Knockout
Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation will provide gambling awareness in a new innovative way to Aboriginal communities, in particular Aboriginal women in high risk communities in Northern NSW, through the Women in League Knockout, a wellbeing camp and through film.
Aboriginal communities will be encouraged to enter teams into a Women in League knockout. These teams will attend a presentation on gambling risks, have gambling awareness promotion on their playing gear, attend a wellbeing camp and nominate a team member to be filmed and interviewed about gambling issues.
Throughout the journey of the project the aim is to see sustainable change and link those who need it to service providers.
Grant amount: $100,000
Northern United Rugby League Club: Dirrawong Responsible Gambling Program
Northern United Rugby League (NU) will conduct a multi-levelled gambling prevention program, the Dirrawong Responsible Gambling Program, targeted at the Aboriginal population of the North Coast and specifically targeting the population around Lismore. The program will involve an education program involving partnerships with The Buttery and individuals from Gamblers Anonymous as well as involving Beyond Empathy (an Aboriginal focused organisation who deliver innovative programs to help reduce mental health problems), the Aboriginal Medical Services and the Local Area Health Service.
A series of education programs will be held at weekly community training nights that regularly attract over 120 Aboriginal people of all ages. Program signage and information stalls will also be in place at all home games in 2020 and 2021, The program will culminate with branding and signage delivering a strong sponsorship message at the 2020/21 Koori Knockout.
Grant amount: $30,000
Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania) (Project in Southern NSW): Recoded – changing the way we game
The ‘Recoded’ prevention program will provide education and capacity building on gaming and gambling for young people and their support networks including teachers, wellbeing staff, youth workers, and sporting clubs.
Uniting will employ a project officer and youth worker in Southern NSW to co-design a framework that can be delivered across a range of services and spaces accessed by young people to reduce the potential harms of excessive gaming and gambling. The framework will also develop a train-the-trainer module for key services to ensure the work is embedded within the local community.
The project will bring together best-practice and emerging evidence within the gaming and gambling space to design a responsive and adaptable program that improves community awareness and is able to identify risk factors for young people who are developing unhealthy behaviours. By providing this education to children and young people the program will create healthy and pro-social behaviours around gaming and reduce the risk of these behaviours becoming addictive and escalating to unhealthy gambling behaviours.
Grant amount: $200,000
University of Sydney: Bridging the gap through Aboriginal peer support
The University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic (GTRC) will implement a harm prevention program in indigenous communities in Western/South-Western Sydney. The project will increase awareness of problem gambling and enhance referral pathways by collaborating with community elders to co-design and co-deliver public awareness programs.
The project will build upon existing relationships with Aboriginal services to engage elders as peer-support workers, to provide ongoing support throughout the referral and treatment process. The project will increase the number of peer-support workers who can provide community education, enhance referrals and attend therapy groups to offer support. Educational initiatives will include workshops and resource sharing at community events and local media aimed at increasing awareness and promoting gambling support services.
Grant amount: $198,978
University of Technology Sydney: Aboriginal Animation Training & Resource Program
The Aboriginal Animation Training & Promotion Program will produce a resource about promoting safe gambling targeting Indigenous communities in NSW. Four, 30 second animation clips will be produced by young, indigenous filmmakers.
The clips will be screened throughout the annual Winda Film Festival in November 2020. There will also be opportunities to screen the clips on social media platforms and broadcast networks such as NITV/SBS.
Grant amount: $117,800
Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service: Walgett Community Garden: Yarning About Gambling
This project recognises gambling as a public health issue affecting the social determinants of health for individuals and community.
A reinvigorated Community Garden will provide a safe space unrelated to alcohol or gambling, a source of information, pathways to support, development of pride and contribution to community. Yarning is recognised as an appropriate strategy to engage about the impacts of gambling. Safe spaces, family-friendly activities and a source of fresh produce will be provided.
The project has a capacity building focus, including training Aboriginal Health Workers in Walgett and Brewarrina to equip them to respond to gambling harm and provide community with soft entry points, awareness and support regarding gambling and its impacts. The project targets its outcomes at connections to information and support for individuals, families and community.
Grant amount: $94,000
Wesley Community Services: Gambling awareness and money management program
Wesley Community Services will deliver In Charge of My Money Gambling Awareness to at-risk communities in the Penrith and Sydney-city. The service’s gambling counsellors work with 10 Alcohol and Other Drug Centres, two Community Housing Support Organisations and two Multicultural Community Centres in these regions, providing access and ongoing support to key, at-risk clients.
Wesley will deliver 50, three-hour workshops for 750 people who are at risk or are impacted by problem gambling. The program will provide a soft entry to access further targeted support. Clients will be engaged in an existing program with current partners and receive wraparound ongoing support in a therapeutic environment. The program content will address pathways into gambling and identification of risks and outcomes.
Grant amount: $194,000
Australia
AUSTRAC Takes Ladbrokes and Neds’ Operator – Entain – to Federal Court Over Serious Non-compliance with Australia’s Money Laundering Laws
AUSTRAC commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Entain Group Pty Ltd (Entain), which operates online betting sites including Ladbrokes, Neds and other online betting brands. The proceedings allege serious and systemic non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said the agency considers there were systemic failures in Entain’s approach to its AML/CTF obligations.
“AUSTRAC’s proceedings allege that Entain did not develop and maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program and failed to identify and assess the risks it faced. We are alleging this left the company at serious risk of criminal exploitation.
“Money laundering is often a symptom of serious criminal activity, including fraud, scams and corruption, all of which have equally serious effects on our communities,” he said.
AUSTRAC’s allegations include that:
• Entain’s board and senior management did not have appropriate oversight of its AML/CTF program, which limited its ability to identify the ML/TF risks it faced and its vulnerability to criminal exploitation.
• Entain operated a 24/7 business through its website and app, which created risks that persons unknown to Entain could access and use Entain’s betting platform including through third party providers.
• Third parties, including businesses and individuals, accepted cash and other deposits on behalf of Entain to be credited into betting accounts in ways that could obscure the proceeds of crime. Cash is less transparent than other forms of money and is at higher risk of being the proceeds of crime.
• Entain did not have appropriate controls to confirm the identity of customers making these deposits and the source of this money.
• Entain did not conduct appropriate checks on 17 higher risk customers, including examples where Entain did not appropriately deal with the risk that its online betting sites were being exploited by criminals to spend the proceeds of serious crime. This includes allegations that Entain deliberately obscured the identity of some high risk customers, on its own systems, through the use of pseudonyms to “protect their privacy”.
“This is the first time AUSTRAC has brought civil penalty proceedings against businesses operating in the online betting sector, and the Australian arm of Entain is part of one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming groups,” Mr Thomas said.
“The online betting sector, and all other businesses regulated by AUSTRAC, must take their AML/CTF obligations seriously. This includes ensuring they have appropriate procedures to know who their customer is, even when they rely on third parties to process transactions.”
The action taken is part of AUSTRAC’s ongoing work focussed on gambling businesses in Australia to fight money laundering opportunities in the gambling industry. Following the Federal Court ordering Crown pay $450million in penalties over 2 years in 2023, this year AUSTRAC has seen the Federal Court order SkyCity to pay $63M penalty for breaches to the AML/CTF Act, accept an enforceable undertaking from Sportsbet, continue the Federal Court case against Star and are continuing the regulatory focus on a number of other gambling entities across Australia.
Additionally, the launch of the money laundering National Risk Assessment this year highlighted the highly exposed nature and vulnerability to money laundering online betting agencies face. This valuable resource has been developed support business better understand and develop appropriate measures to mitigate their risks.
It is now a matter for the Federal Court of Australia to determine whether Entain contravened the Act and, if so, what orders to make. AUSTRAC will not provide further comment on this enforcement action while the matter is before the Court.
Non-confidential Court documents related to the Entain matter will be available on the enforcement actions taken page in due course.
“AUSTRAC continues to actively driving out money laundering opportunities in Australia’s gambling industry and we’ll be tireless in our efforts to remove the ability for criminal to use our financial system to their own gain,” Mr Thomas said.
The post AUSTRAC Takes Ladbrokes and Neds’ Operator – Entain – to Federal Court Over Serious Non-compliance with Australia’s Money Laundering Laws appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The NSW Government has appointed experienced public administrator Christine Howlett as a new Commissioner of the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) for a four-year term following a competitive recruitment process.
Ms Howlett fills the vacancy created by the departure of Craig Sahlin who served as a NICC Commissioner since 2022 and was a Board Member of the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) between 2016 and 2022.
The NICC is the independent statutory regulator of NSW’s two casinos, set up in 2022 to provide increased regulatory oversight of casino operations.
Ms Howlett joins the NICC with substantial executive leadership experience in public administration, corporate governance, regulation and stakeholder engagement.
From 2021 she served as Deputy Special Manager, independently overseeing Crown Melbourne’s remediation program following the findings of the Finkelstein Royal Commission, including reforms to prevent gambling harm and money laundering.
Ms Howlett has also held senior roles with Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission, the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Victoria’s Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants and the National Crime Authority.
Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris said: “An exhaustive selection process was undertaken to fill the NICC Commissioner role in accordance with legislative requirements, including the establishment of a selection panel and engagement of an independent probity adviser.
“Christine Howlett brings a wide range of skills and expertise to the NICC, with highly relevant experience in independently overseeing Crown Melbourne’s remediation program.
“She joins the NICC at a critical time with the regulator currently monitoring The Star casino’s ongoing remediation work following the Bell Two Inquiry.
“I would like to thank Craig Sahlin for his outstanding contribution to both the NICC and ILGA over the past eight years.
“His demonstrated expertise has significantly contributed to strengthening the government’s regulatory framework and public confidence and trust in the work of both the NICC and ILGA.”
NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said: “The NICC is pleased to welcome Christine Howlett to the role and is looking forward to utilising her experience to advance the NICC’s strategic priorities.
“Christine’s skills will be valuable to help the NICC expand its surveillance and data collection abilities to better monitor financial crime risks and compliance.
“Christine’s expertise in building internal capacity will assist the NICC to maintain effective regulatory supervision past the remediation and suitability phases, and into longer-term sustainability.
“We thank Craig Sahlin for his exceptional work with the NICC and ILGA over the past eight years. His dedication was instrumental in advancing the NICC’s mission and his efforts have contributed to the achievement of significant milestones.”
The post Christine Howlett Appointed as New Commissioner of NSW Independent Casino Commission appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gambling law and regulation conference Regulating the Game announced the latest addition to its 2025 Masterclass Series in Sydney: “Beyond Compliance – Safer Gambling Training and Building a Culture of Customer Care,” presented by Jay Robinson, Chief Stakeholder Relations Officer at Focal Research Consultants.
With over 20 years of global experience in developing and delivering training programs across jurisdictions—from pubs and clubs to casinos and online operators—Robinson is a leading voice in creating safer gambling environments.
“Robinson’s approach focuses on building a culture of customer care that prioritizes player protection and staff well-being while enhancing the overall gambling experience,” a press release says.
This masterclass will delve into:
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How industry leaders, regulators, and frontline staff can embed a culture of safer gambling.
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The critical role leadership plays in sustaining training initiatives.
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Strategies to extend the reach and effectiveness of safer gambling programs, improve customer experiences, reduce staff burnout, and drive long-term benefits for operators and stakeholders alike.
“Effective gambling staff training must meet the real needs of both staff and customers, ensuring that safer gambling practices become second nature. This masterclass is about empowering organizations to go beyond compliance, fostering a culture of care and leadership that makes a lasting impact,” said Jay Robinson.
According to the announcement, this masterclass is “essential for operational leaders, C-suite executives, regulators, and anyone committed to advancing safer gambling initiatives.” Participants will leave with actionable insights and tools to lead cultural change, elevate training outcomes, and strengthen their organization’s reputation.
The Regulating the Game conference seeks to bridge the gap between regulators, industry professionals, and stakeholders. Now entering its fifth year, the conference continues to attract world-class speakers and attendees, driving discussions on policy, regulation, and sector challenges.
The post Regulating the Game 2025 adds masterclass on safer gambling training and customer care appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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