‘Gambling in Victoria in 2020 – COVID-19 and beyond’: government to invest AU$600,000 on research

The investigation will see six research projects funded to dig deeper into gambling behaviour harms during the pandemic

Australia’s Labour Government is set to invest AU$600,000 in a new research project aimed at examining the impact of COVID-19 on gambling harm. The theme of the project is: ‘Gambling in Victoria in 2020 – COVID-19 and beyond.’ The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation will receive the grant to carry out the research project.

This project will be funded from 11 of the organisation’s annual Grants for Gambling Research program.

Three separate research projects will be awarded AU$150,000 over three years. An early career researcher grant of AU$50,000 will be awarded over 18 months as well as two mid-career researcher grants of AU$100,000 over two years. The findings are aimed at supporting the Foundation in shaping future initiatives and activities. Melissa Horne, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation said “We know that throughout the pandemic and the associated lockdown, some Victorians benefitted from an enforced break from in-venue gambling, while others found it incredibly challenging, to be able to plan and respond to gambling harm effectively, we need to know how COVID-19 affected gambling behaviours. This funding will be incredibly beneficial in understanding how those vulnerable to gambling were impacted by the pandemic.” Responsible Gambling Foundation CEO Shane Lucas stated that the most recent publicly available data shows online race and sports betting increased by 30% compared to the same period the year before. He sees this research critical as it will lead to the understanding of changes in gambling behavior. SiGMA Roadshow – Next stop: Las Vegas: After our successful roadshow in Ukraine -The SiGMA Roadshow’s next stop is Las Vegas. Our Virtual Roadshow reflects SiGMA’s global events opening in 5 major regions over the next few years, specifically Europe, the CIS region, Asia, the Americas and Africa. Our previous virtual event, held in Ukraine, welcomed over 2,500 delegate registrations and over 1,500 conference views. There were also over 75 exhibitors and the number of total booth entries hit close to a 6k mark. Join us for our next Virtual Roadshow to learn more about the US gaming market!