New resource to protect children and young people from online gambling harm 

A new website designed to keep children and young people safe from gambling harm has been launched by The Australian National University (ANU) and the Youth Coalition of the ACT.  

Fair Play was developed in collaboration with young people, parents and carers and the wider ACT community. 

It contains a range of resources and practical tools to help prevent gambling harm. 

Director of the ANU Centre for Gambling Research, Associate Professor Aino Suomi, said the digital hub was created in response to a direct and urgent need. 

“From talking to children and young people, we’ve learnt a lot about when and how they are exposed to online gambling. We also know gambling in Australia is changing – with more and more options to gamble online,” Associate Professor Suomi said. 

“The young people we’ve spoken to tell us that they love playing video games and watching sports. When they play or watch these games, they don’t set out to gamble. But many of these games are ridden with gambling features and advertising. Gambling pretty quicky becomes an inescapable part of the game.” 

According to Associate Professor Suomi “clever and targeted advertising” means children can quickly come to think of gambling as something that makes the game more fun and exciting, while reinforcing the view that gambling is a normal activity.  

“This is further reinforced when friends chat to each other about betting odds, or their recent wins – they might even start a betting competition at school,” she said. 

“Others might compare rare items from loot boxes in video games, and before you know it gambling has become part of the experience of playing. 

“Once these young people turn 18, they can gamble just about anywhere and anytime thanks to their digital devices.” 

Thomas Stevens, Director of Sector Development, Workforce Capability and Communications at the Youth Coalition of the ACT, said Fair Play was developed to help counter some of these common narratives around gambling. 

“It’s also designed to equip families with the tools they need. It provides practical strategies to navigate the complexity and enables meaningful conversations grounded in understanding, not judgement,” he said. 

The information learnt from young people themselves forms the foundation of the Fair Play website.  

“We tend to look at gambling through the lens of financial motivations and harms,” ANU PhD candidate Hunter Culbong, who was also part of the co-design committee, said. 

“But we can see that young people in our study are motivated by social and psychological fulfilment to an extent beyond that of financial rewards. We should pay attention to how and why these motivations have changed.” 

The project is funded by the ACT Government through their Gambling Harm Prevention and Mitigation Fund.