The main goal of A Path Forward for Reducing Gambling Harm in Western Australia project was to explore strategic advocacy approaches for reducing gambling harm in WA. Central to this work was identifying key leverage points for reform across policy, practice, and legislation. Rather than prescribing a fixed plan, the project sought to outline potential approaches and priorities for more effective coordination among stakeholders, and to map out priority areas for advocacy and action that could drive meaningful change across the state.
This project sought to understand:
- What is the current state of harm reduction and prevention policy in WA?
- Who is involved in gambling harm reduction and prevention in WA?
- What are the opportunities for change to reduce gambling harm in WA?
- What is an appropriate Advocacy Strategy to support implementation of change and ensure a coordinated approach to gambling advocacy in WA?
The project had five objectives:
- Use currently available literature (including policy documents) to capture current policy understandings of the current state of gambling harm in WA, including the scope of gambling harm, impacts on specific demographics, and key challenges specific to the WA context.
- Understand the current policy and regulatory approach to gambling harm reduction and prevention in WA, including current advocacy efforts.
- Understand which stakeholders are actively involved in gambling harm reduction and prevention in WA, including stakeholders involved in current advocacy efforts.
- Identify opportunities for improving gambling harm reduction and prevention in WA, including priority areas for action and reform. Priority areas should balance what is achievable in the WA context with the need for change.
- Develop an Advocacy Strategy that facilitates a coordinated and collaborative approach to gambling advocacy in WA, including improvements against the priority areas.
The project was funded under a Healthway grant.
A summary document of the report can be found here.
Executive Summary
Gambling represents a growing public health concern in WA, with millions of dollars lost each year and profound impacts on individuals, families, and communities. Despite mounting evidence of financial hardship, mental health challenges, and social dislocation linked to gambling, there is a common misconception that gambling harm is minimal in WA because, unlike other states, electronic gaming machines have not been allowed to proliferate beyond the casino. In reality, frontline community service providers are seeing a very different picture—one in which financial hardship, mental health issues and family violence are being intensified by the gambling products that are available in WA.
Gambling‑related harms pose significant costs to the WA community and require further examination. Currently, there is no coordinated community effort directed at having the issues related to gambling harm addressed. This gap in coordinated action has left many Western Australians exposed to harm without adequate prevention or support services.
The WA Government’s current reform agenda has centred largely on implementing the recommendations of the Perth Casino Royal Commission. While this work is essential, it risks overlooking the significant gambling‑related harms occurring across the broader WA community. A separate review of gambling regulation is underway within the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (DLGIRS); however, it is concerning that this process does not appear to be adopting a comprehensive public health approach.
Government agencies acknowledge that gambling causes significant health, mental health and social harms including family stress, links to family and domestic violence and forms of coercive control, yet the Department of Health, Department of Communities or the Mental Health Commission do not systematically record gambling in their administrative data. As a result, impacts remain anecdotal or buried in unaggregated case notes. Current responses focus on regulation and counselling for “problem gamblers,” reinforcing an individualised lens rather than a system‑level public health approach.
Recently released research commissioned by the DLGIRS highlights a concerning and growing pattern of gambling‑related harm in WA. The Prevalence of Gambling Participation and Harm in WA study demonstrates that gambling is widespread across the State and that a significant proportion of people who gamble are experiencing social, financial and psychological harms as a result. Importantly, the study clearly shows that gambling harm in WA is neither isolated nor confined to the casino environment.
Building a coordinated approach across the community services and health sectors is essential to responding to gambling‑related harm in WA. Although many organisations encounter gambling impacts in their day‑to‑day work, the issue often remains peripheral to their core mission, leading to limited strategic focus and resourcing. A more connected sector that is resourced to share knowledge, align priorities and advocate collectively would help elevate gambling harm as a public health and social issue requiring sustained attention and action.
Full implementation of the Inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm (Murphy report) is essential in addressing the harm caused by online gambling platforms.
A key priority is establishing a coordinated advocacy mechanism for WA. This would provide a platform for sector‑wide engagement, enabling organisations to develop policy, guide service development and ensure gambling harm is addressed alongside other interconnected social issues. Such coordination is central to embedding gambling harm within broader public health and social policy agendas.
Independent, community‑centred decision‑making is also important. The gambling industry should not have influence over decisions in policy or governance processes related to gambling harm reduction. Rather, advisory and governance bodies should include public health experts, service providers, researchers, young people and people with lived experience. The establishment of an independent advisory body as recommended by the Perth Casino Royal Commission is critical. This body could lead ongoing research, monitor emerging risks such as online gambling and advertising, and provide evidence‑based advice to the WA Government. Without it, WA will continue to lack the transparent, expert insight required to understand and reduce gambling harm across the community.
Without adequate resources, the community and health sectors are limited in the action they can take to either bring the issues to the attention of governments or develop the solutions and advocate for their implementation. A stronger public health approach is needed—one that moves beyond incremental reforms to comprehensive, evidence‑based strategies. Much remains to be done to ensure that the voices of those most affected by gambling harm are heard and the difficulties in which they find themselves are adequately addressed.
This report provides an overview of the current gambling landscape in WA, highlighting both initiatives underway to address gambling‑related harms and existing gaps where further action is needed.