Update 14 June 2024

Council endorsed the Reducing Harm from Gambling Policy at the 13 June 2024 Council meeting.

You can read the endorsed Policy and the engagement summary report in the Document Library on this page.

All forms of gambling can cause harm and we’re committed to doing what we can to help prevent gambling harm.

We have a role in supporting our communities to prevent gambling harm through advocacy, partnerships, community support, planning and regulation. To do this, we are proposing a new Gambling Policy that would set out a framework for how we can best support our community.

To help develop the Gambling Policy, we want to hear about your experiences, your concerns and your ideas on what role Council should have to address the harms gambling may be causing to you, your family or the community.

Gambling harm

Gambling has a major impact on our community. More than $70 million – or $553 per adult – is taken from Glen Eira residents each year through poker machines alone.

Gambling harm can affect anyone, impacting people’s finances, emotions, health, relationships, work and study. Gambling can mean anything from poker machines to casino games, online gambling, lotteries, race betting, sports betting and similar activities.

The risk can be bigger to some members of our community due to their age, socio-economic status, gender, cultural and linguistic background, experiences of family violence, exposure to opportunities to gamble, and other intersectional factors.

To learn more about gambling harm in Glen Eira, visit our website.

  • Glen Eira losses

    On average, each Glen Eira adult lost $550 to the pokies in the 2022-2023 financial year.

    $163 million was lost across all legal gambling in Glen Eira.

  • Gambling harm

    Approximately two thirds of Victorian adults gamble, and 9.6% of Victorian adults who gamble experience gambling harm.

    Harm from gambling extends beyond financial harm and can include emotional, health, relationship, cultural, criminal activities and harm to study or work.

  • Losses on the rise

    Lottery losses increased from $518 million to $788 million between 2018 to 2022.

    Sport and race betting losses increased from $1.65 billion to $2.58 billion between 2020 to 2022.

Council's Gambling Policy

As part of our Community Wellbeing Plan 2021—2025, we committed to making our role clearer and doing more to prevent gambling harm in Glen Eira. That’s why we’re developing a Gambling Policy, to create a framework for how we can work with the community to reduce gambling harm, and we want the community’s feedback to shape it.

The proposed Gambling Policy identifies five key roles, summarised below. For full details on what the proposed Policy covers, please download the Draft Gambling Policy.

Council has a legislated role in responding to applications for new gambling venues and new poker machines at gambling venues.

The Gambling Policy proposes that Council performs social and economic impact assessments through this process.

Council can play a role in building the capacity and resilience of communities and supporting access to available prevention programs and services.

The Gambling Policy proposes that Council improves awareness, research and education around contemporary gambling-related issues. It also proposes that we deliver and support gambling-harm prevention activities and campaigns in the community.

We can adopt a whole of organisation approach to minimising harm by embedding gambling harm prevention measures across Council.

To do this, the Gambling Policy proposes that we reduce or prohibit organisational use of, or access to, gambling venues and activities.

The Policy also proposes gambling-related restrictions on clubs, community groups, organisations and associations on Council land or facilities. Grants and in-kind support to community groups or organisations would not be provided for events or activities that promote gambling or are held in gambling venues. It would also be prohibited to advertise the participation in gambling on Council-owned or managed land, resources and facilities.

Local community activities like raffles, card games and sports tipping competitions are a mainstay of community and sporting organisations to fundraise for local causes, so these activities wouldn’t be impacted.

Council has a significant role to act on the needs and concerns of the community and representing these views to the appropriate governing bodies.

The Gambling Policy proposes that we advocate to governing bodies around evidence-based methods for gambling harm prevention. We would work together with neighbouring councils and other key partners in advocating for legislative and regulatory reform.

Council can work with the sector to facilitate a coordinated response to preventing and reducing gambling related harms in the community.

The Gambling Policy proposes that we work with relevant networks, agencies and stakeholders to improve our ability to advocate and deliver services and community support.

Local community activities like raffles, card games and sports tipping competitions are a mainstay of community and sporting organisations to fundraise for local causes, so these activities wouldn’t be covered by our Gambling Policy.

Have your say

Have your say on our draft Gambling Policy to help us support our community to reduce gambling harm.

Fill out the survey below or send us an email at engagement@gleneira.vic.gov.au.