Discourses of responsible gambling and gambling harm: observations from Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Within a neo-liberal economic orthodoxy, the gambling industry has succeeded in the discursive feat of transforming gambling from its previous pariah pastime status to normalized entertainment. This contemporary discourse of gambling as entertainment has repositioned gambling as harmless fun. The comfortable orthodoxy of ‘responsible gambling’ adopts language emphasizing concepts such as ‘personal responsibility’. A focus on the lack of self-control of delinquent users deflects attention away from harmful products, diminishing scrutiny of industry failure to appropriately address gambling harms. We analyzed data derived from interviews with stakeholders familiar with the gambling licensing process in Victoria, Australia, in order to identify if and how the discursive structures of this comfortable orthodoxy manifest in discussions on gambling. Data were derived from thematic analysis of 21 interviews with decision makers, industry advocates, and other stakeholders. Evidence highlights multiple recurring discursive structures of the ‘comfortable orthodoxy’, including the narrative of gambling as legalized recreation, personal choice and self-responsibility. Highlighting the pervasiveness of this discourse, these narratives were evident across the spectrum of informants. This research illustrates the way in which multiple gambling stakeholders deploy the discursive structures underpinning gambling regulation and operations. Discourses establish understanding of the nature of specific issues, and can influence responses to public health or other policy problems. In this instance, a discourse overwhelmingly favoring industry interests, has the potential to entrench and support harmful systems of exploitation and harm creation. Transforming the responsible gambling discourse is an important focus for public health activity concerned with reducing gambling related harm.

Keywords:

• Gambling
• gambling harm
• discourse
• public health
• responsible gambling

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants who shared their insights during the interviews.

Disclosure statement

L.F. reports receiving an Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship (formerly Australian Postgraduate Award from the Commonwealth government. L.F has contributed to projects that have received funding from non-government organizations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform and existing harm minimization practices. In 2020, L.F. worked in a part-time capacity as the Gambling and Harm Minimization Project Officer for Wyndham City.

C.L. reports receiving funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organizations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimization practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He reports receiving travel and cooperation grants from the Turkish Green Crescent Society, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He reports serving as a Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council funded projects researching (i) mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol, and gambling industries and (ii) the economics of price in alcohol, tobacco, and gambling consumption. He reports undertaking consultancy research for local governments and non-government organizations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the WHO expert group on gambling and gambling disorder.

Notes

1 ‘Vertical Fiscal Imbalance’ refers to the difference in the proportion of revenue collected and overall expenditure across the different levels of government. In Australia, the Federal government has most taxing power, yet state governments have significant expenses. Thus, the Federal government has vast resources, and the states have vast needs.

2 The ‘net detriment test’ requires the regulator to be satisfied that the social and economic impact of the application would not be detrimental to the wellbeing of populations in the local government area.