By: Eastern Football League Chief Executive Officer, Phil Murton
The EFL is dedicated to building awareness around the issue gambling can pose in hope of minimising its impact on how we enjoy the sports we love, in our clubs, communities and our homes, through the Victorian Responsible Gambling’s Foundation ‘Love The Game, Not the Odds‘ program.
A number of EFL clubs have signed the charter and are having education sessions to help their players.
Our partnership with the VRGF is one we are very proud of. With a website that has in excess of 15 million-page views per year, the League has at times in the past had the opportunity to benefit financially from gambling related advertising.
The Board made a conscious decision to not accept this given our constituency and commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment across all our media channels.
With the current prevalence in gambling advertising and easy access through online accounts, we think the ‘Love The Game‘ program is a great fit for the League and our clubs to be part of to educate young men on the risks and pitfalls associated with gambling.
Combined with the Good Sports Program and other initiatives clubs are running, it sends a strong message to the community on the environment our clubs are trying to create for the young men involved.
It’s a program that doesn’t say don’t bet, but just think about when and how much, an important message given the opportunities for gambling these days. For a club to sign up to the charter, apart from not being sponsored by a betting organisation, the main feature they have to commit to is having a short education session for their players.
We’ve all read the unfortunate high profile stories of problem gambling involving former AFL players David Schwarz, Brenda Fevola, Brent Guerra, Daniel Ward and Darryn Cresswell. It would be naïve to think stories like these aren’t happening amongst our friends and teammates.
As people who know me would attest, I’m no wowser. While I’ve never been a big punter, I enjoy the occasional bet and odd day at the races, am a member of the MRC at Mornington and try to attend a few race meetings over the summer.
But since being involved with the VRGF my awareness of gambling advertising has increased and has shocked me. Going about my weekly consumption of all things media and footy, whether it’s entering my tips, listening to the radio, watching the game on TV, or reading online or in the papers, the saturation and normalization of gambling advertising is mind blowing.
As you go about your business this week, I encourage you to take some notice of the amount of time you see or hear advertising related to gambling. It’s not until you consciously look for it that you realise how prevalent it is.
And it’s the impact that this significant subconscious exposure has that is the unknown concern for us all, given many are in mediums that young people can and do access.
Since our beyondblue Round I’ve had a number of clubs tell me stories of people from within their club who have made public their challenges with mental health and the fact that are seeking help. If increasing the awareness of problem gambling can do similar, it’s all worth it.
If you or someone you know has a problem with gambling, you can call Gambler’s Help on 1800 858 858 or Gambler’s Help Youth line on 1800 262 376.