The evolution of responsible gambling policy and practice: insights for Asia from Australia

This presentation draws on the Australian experience of problem gambling and responsible gambling to provide insights for Asian jurisdictions currently experiencing a wave of gambling expansion. Specifically, it draws on a lifecycle approach to issues management to explain the emergence of problem gambling as a significant social and public health issue in Australia. It then tracks how gambling operators in Australia have responded to this issue through the development and implementation of responsible gambling measures. Four developmental stages of responsible gambling policy and practice in Australia are discussed, from an elementary stage of corporate citizenship through engaged and innovative stages, to its integration into the business of gambling. Current pressures are identified that may move Australian gambling operators towards a more transformative stage of corporate citizenship in responsible gambling, where more effective and targeted measures are implemented. Insights are drawn from the Australian experience which might inform the future of responsible gambling in Asia