BetStop: Should we adopt Australia's scheme to tackle problem gambling?

The modern gambler sits among us. They’re on the sofa in our living room, they’re at our work lunches and they’re the distracted friend at the evening out.

Gamblers are no longer relegated to the dark corners of the pokies. With the power of their mobile phone, they can bet no matter where they are. 

Relentless advertising from the gaming industry offers deals and promotions, encouraging viewers to place bets on everything from online poker to Football World Cup matches.

But some countries are now fighting back, putting measures in place to keep online gambling under control. Across the ditch in Australia a new online gambling self-exclusion register called BetStop is going live today.

Is this a step we could take? And is Aotearoa doing enough to ensure that we don’t lose a generation to the blight of online gambling addiction?

Today on The Front Page, Andree Froude from the Problem Gambling Foundation and Dr Charles Livingstone, Head of the Gambling and Social Determinants unit at Australia’s Monash University discuss whether we are taking too big a gamble on Kiwis’ mental and financial health.

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You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

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