Addressing gambling in Indigenous communities: embracing community, diversity and wellbeing

Gambling affects Australian Indigenous families and communities in diverse and complex ways, but to date there has been a lack of coordinated research, service delivery or policy focus in this area. This is partly due to the variety of Indigenous peoples’ gambling practices, as well as the diversity of the contexts in which Indigenous people live. This webinar described this diversity and discussed the relevance of applying a health promotion framework to address the issues related to gambling in the Australian Indigenous context. The presenters discussed the five key areas of action of the Ottawa Charter (1986) on health promotion, and analysed how this framework can be used to guide policy and practice. The webinar drew upon the available research literature and the extensive knowledge gained from gambling service delivery in the Northern Territory and New South Wales.