Rebekha Sharkie MP is calling on the Government to rein in political donations from gambling companies.
The Independent Federal Member for Mayo has joined fellow independent Andrew Wilkie in condemning the major parties for their inaction on gambling reform and for accepting money from gambling companies for their campaigns.
The pair are calling for widespread reforms to minimise the human cost of gambling, including a ban on all advertising of online gambling.
A specialist in gambling-related harm at Federation University, Associate Professor Angela Rintoul, has this week told Parliamentarians that suicide is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of gambling-related harms, but that the country does not have data on how many are occurring.
Gambling harm strategies which focus on ‘problem gamblers’ needing to ‘gamble responsibly’, ignore the glaring need for far better regulation of ‘highly unsafe’ gambling products which are both readily accessible and heavily marketed, according to Associate Professor Rintoul.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the national gambling helpline on 1800 858 858
