New South Wales government boosts GambleAware funding by $1.3 million

On Thursday, the Minns Labor Government announced a significant increase in funding for GambleAware, the state’s primary provider of gambling harm support services. 

The injection of an additional AU$1.3 million annually ($927,000) aims to expand peer support and front-line assistance, raising the number of service locations across New South Wales by 44%, from 34 to 49 sites.

The new funding will allow GambleAware to recruit five additional peer support workers, increasing the total number of dedicated staff to 16. 

GambleAware offers a range of services including free counselling, financial advice, peer support and operates a 24-hour crisis helpline for individuals affected by their own or others’ gambling behaviours. 

In the 2024-25 period, GambleAware supported 4,170 clients through over 19,000 counselling sessions and managed more than 9,500 crisis calls through its helpline.

Six service providers have been awarded contracts through a competitive tender process to continue delivering services across 10 regions in NSW. 

The providers include Wesley Community Services, Regional Community Care, Armidale CentaCare New England North West, Mission Australia, Uniting and St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. Contracts are structured over three years, with an option to extend for two additional years. Specific contract values were not disclosed in the announcement.

Government response and rationale

David Harris, minister for gaming and racing, referred to a recent independent evaluation of GambleAware that concluded the system delivers “high-quality, safe, efficient and effective services” but identified a need for increased funding in community engagement, peer support and operational costs.

“That’s why we have responded with a funding boost of $1.3 million for the coming year,” Harris said.

The government emphasised peer support as a key focus of the expansion, highlighting the work of Dean Dries, a Proud Wiradjuri man and GambleAware peer support worker in Northern Sydney and the Central Coast. 

Dries shared his recovery journey and stressed the importance of community and hope: “Recovery is not easy… I want to give back to the community and let them know they’re not alone, there are people who care about them and there is hope.”

New South Wales reforms

This funding increase fits within the Minns government’s wider agenda to reform gambling regulations and minimise harm in the state. Measures implemented since the government took office include:

• Increasing the Responsible Gambling Fund to AU$20.7 million by 2025–26, up from AU$19.2 million the previous year;
• Reducing the state cap on gaming machine entitlements by more than 3,000;
• Lowering cash input limits on new gaming machines from AU$5,000 to AU$500;
• Introducing responsible gambling officers in larger venues;
• Implementing mandatory incident registers and gaming management plans;
• Relocating ATMs away from gaming floors;
• Banning external gambling signage on venues;
• Enforcing a mandatory shutdown period for electronic gaming machines between 4am and 10am;
• Developing facial recognition technologies and a statewide exclusion register to aid self-exclusion initiatives.

Broader gambling reform measures

This funding increase fits within Australian’s wider agenda to reform gambling regulations and minimise harm in the state. The government unveiled their intended reforms in April this year, three years after the landmark Murphy Report was filed. The reforms target gambling advertisements specifically with a watershed ban on TV and a ban on using celebrities.

At the time of announcement, Minister Anika Wells described the reforms as the “strongest in Australia’s history”. 

The UK branch of GambleAware called on the UK government to enact similar reforms. It urged the government to consider restrictions on the marketing of specific gambling activities most commonly associated with harm, such as casino games and slots.

It also suggested a ban on individuals such as influencers, celebrities and tipsters representing operators.