This report outlines the results of an audit of the Queensland Australia government's work in minimizing gambling harm. The report addresses prevalence of harm, understanding the role of addressing harm, funding to address harm, support services, regulation, risk assessment, and monitoring among several other topics. Overall, the audit concludes that it is not possible to determine whether the department has been effective in minimizing gambling harm, due to a lack of measures to evaluate progress.
Recommendations include:
- Conduct regular and targeted studies to assess the extent and impact of gambling issues.
- Assesses the long-term funding needed to effectively deliver harm minimization plans.
- Develop and implement strategies and initiatives with more focus on at-risk groups and emerging gambling activities such as wagering.
- Tailor support services to better meet the needs of at-risk groups and make them more accessible.
- Work with relevant industry stakeholders to prioritize the development of a centralized self-exclusion system.
- Update the code of practice and ensure that it can be used to hold gambling operators accountable for breaches.
- Conduct regular risk assessments of gambling activities and operators.
- Develop and implement detailed and harm-focused inspection checklists.
