The pokies from a migrant's perspective
 At the request of the Office of Gaming and Racing, we have been developing a new in-language resource on understanding the pokies in Victoria.
The process of creating this resource involved conducting focus groups with Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Italian and Greek communities, to explore what they currently knew about the pokies, and discover what they would like to know.
The results surprised us a little. We expected that certain groups would hold cultural beliefs about lucky numbers, colours or days, while others would not. We found that most significant beliefs about the pokies were not culture-specific; they were common across all groups.
A key misconception was about the poker machine itself. While all focus group participants knew that the machines were controlled by computers, most believed that the computers were programmed to ‘pay out’ at a pre-determined point.
Some people believed that a machine would pay once a certain amount of money went in; others said that it was after a certain period of time had passed; others felt that gaming operators could trigger a payout if players were starting to leave the venue. Read more |
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Gambling a key issue for Diversity in Health 2010
 The impact of problem gambling on migrant and refugee communities will be a key topic of discussion at the Diversity in Health 2010 conference.
The conference, a premier event on the Australian health calendar, is expected to attract over 800 practitioners and policy-makers for a dynamic debate on diversity, health and wellbeing.
Problem gambling is one of the key streams for discussion, with papers now being sought from Gambler's Help and multicultural service providers.
According to stream convenor Mary Gavranic, the focus will be on culturally appropriate prevention and treatment. “We’ll be asking how prevention and treatment strategies can take cultural and post-migration factors into account; how barriers to service access can be removed; and how more effective and culturally appropriate treatment models can be developed.”
Diversity in Health 2010 will run from 7-9 June 2010 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Click here to visit the conference website.
Click here for more information on the Problem Gambling stream.
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Advertising campaign targets CALD young men
 A recent campaign targeting young men at risk of problem gambling has included print, radio and online advertising in a range of community languages.
The campaign is the third in a series of statewide campaigns produced by the Office of Gaming and Racing. In addition to mainstream media advertising, it included targeted advertisements in ethnic press, in-language radio programs and selected websites.
Advertisements were produced in Arabic, Cantonese, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
The advertisements presented gambling as a barrier to a social life, and directed the audience to a website where they could take a questionnaire to assess their level of risk.
For more information visit www.takethequiz.com.au.
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Thanks for your support
On behalf of the Multicultural Gambler's Help Program team, I'd like to thank you for supporting our work during the year.
Don't hesitate to contact me if our service can assist you in any way.
Regards,
Mary Gavranic
Manager, Multicultural Gambler's Help Program
Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health
(03) 9342 9719 | maryg@ceh.org.au
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Gambler's Help services can access free telephone and face-to-face interpreters through ONCALL Interpreters and Translators. The Office of Gaming and Racing has supplied all services with a PIN number, which must be quoted to access the Gambler's Help services creditline.
To book an interpreter, phone (03) 9867 3788 or visit www.oncallinterpreters.com.
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| CALD community resilience campaign |
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The Office of Gaming and Racing is currently undertaking research to inform a media campaign to build community resilience to problem gambling. CALD communities are a significant part of this research, and services may be contacted to assist in the study.
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Gambling Help Online is a new national website that provides live online counselling and email support services to people concerned about gambling issues.
This website also offers extensive information and self-help materials. It complements the telephone and live counselling provided by Gambler's Help.
www.gamblinghelponline.org.au
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