25 Oct 2024
On Friday 18 October 2024, the Office for Problem Gambling hosted a community of practice for key stakeholders from across the South Australian gambling landscape. The theme of the day was ‘Prevention, Early Intervention and Innovation.’ Participants learned about innovations and emerging practice in gambling harm minimisation. There was a strong focus on supporting community to recognise and intervene in early signs of gambling harm by building stronger social connections and reducing isolation.
This was done through community art projects, shared meals, engaging with online communities, and building an army of volunteers inside the Casino to engaged with peers they were concerned about. Nicola Coalter from Pragmatic Practice encouraged participants to ‘stack the deck’ in favour of gambling harm prevention and minimisation. Dr Coalter led us through a series of group activities that involved wearing six colourful thinking hats to inspire new ways of approaching common challenges in delivering prevention and early intervention initiatives.
Most excitingly the Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook, announced two key changes for the Office for Problem Gambling – the first being a change from Gambling Harm Awareness Week to Gambling Harm Action Week. GHAW falls from 27 October to 2 November 2024 and the change demonstrates our commitment to implementing practical, evidence-based solutions to tackling gambling harm. The second announcement will be formally made by the Minister this Sunday 27 October 2024.
Find out more about what we are doing this Gambling Harm Action Week or view presentations from the day