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What policies and interventions are required to reduce the harms of problem gambling and support those affected?

The problem:

Problem gambling costs Australia over $4.7 billion each year and harms individuals, families, and communities. Better understanding its causes and strengthening policy responses can improve wellbeing, relationships, and economic outcomes.

Our research:

• Our research, funded by the Australian Research Council, applied a new approach by examining problem gambling within the context of families, rather than focusing only on individuals.
• Using over 10 years of longitudinal data, we analysed how cognitive and non-cognitive skills shape gambling behaviour and how problem gambling affects the long-term socio-economic outcomes of gamblers, their partners, and children.
• We also investigated how families support problem gamblers and the coping strategies they use.

Our impact:

• Our research shows that cognitive and non-cognitive skills strongly shape gambling behaviour, with higher non-cognitive skills reducing the risk of problem gambling.
• These insights point to prevention strategies that build cognitive and non-cognitive skills early in life and inform more effective policies to support gamblers and their families.

These insights can inform more effective policies and
interventions to support both problem gamblers
and their families.