The Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce on Gambling (WITOG) is a partnership of community service agencies in the City of Whittlesea, committed to preventing and reducing harm associated with gambling. Agencies involved in this partnership include Whittlesea Community Connections, Hume Whittlesea Primary Care Partnership, Salvation Army Crossroads, YMCA Whittlesea, DPV Health, Uniting and Women’s Health in the North (associate member).
Whittlesea Community Connections recognises that gambling is causing significant harm to the health and wellbeing of individuals. In the last 12 months, 1 in 10 Victorians experienced harm from gambling[1]. It is also estimated that for every person experiencing significant harm from gambling, 5 to 10 others will be negatively affected[2]. Whittlesea Community Connections is committed to advocating on behalf of the community for changes to reduce people’s risk of experiencing harm from gambling.
The following case study was undertaken by Whittlesea Community Connections on behalf of WITOG, December 2018
WITOG has developed this case study to capture the lessons learnt from our advocacy against the Commercial Hotel becoming an EGM licenced venue. The case study includes a summary of the challenges faced, activities that contributed to the success of the case and considerations for the future. The content of this case study has been sourced from interviews with key stakeholders (i.e. WITOG member agencies, City of Whittlesea and Maddocks). The VCGLR and VCAT hearing ‘Decisions & Reasons’ documents were also reviewed in the development of this case study.
[1] Adapted from ‘Study of Gambling and Health in Victoria’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, 2015.
[2] ‘Discussion Paper, Addressing Problem Gambling Harm: Working with Family and Friends’, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, April 2015.