Design and Methods. We conducted a mail survey of all available households in the Northern Territory of Australia, including questions on drinking and gambling behaviour on the last visit to a gambling venue. We estimate the effect of moderate (1–4 standard drinks) and risky (>4 standard drinks) alcohol consumption on gambling participation and gambling duration for both problem and non-problem gamblers using regression analysis of 7044 survey responses.

Results. The probability of participating in electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling decreased with alcohol consumption for non-problem gamblers, while the probability of participating in TAB (Totalisator Agency Board, off-course totalisator) gambling increased with risky alcohol consumption for all gamblers. Alcohol consumption was not associated with EGM gambling participation for problem gamblers. Moderate alcohol consumption was negatively associated with EGM gambling duration, with a stronger effect observed for problem gamblers.

Discussion and Conclusions. Moderate alcohol consumption is inversely correlated with both the duration of play and probability of participation for EGM gambling. Current laboratory studies do not predict the drinking–gambling behaviour of the general population in non-laboratory settings. Future research on alcohol and gambling co-occurrence must explicitly consider the drinking and gambling environment in order to produce policy-relevant findings.[Markham F, Young M, Doran B. The relationship between alcohol consumption, gambling behaviour and problem gambling during a single visit to a gambling venue.

In terms of the DSG venues themselves it is to be expected that fewer venues will have a more powerful and extensive effect on the areas in which they are located than the convenience venues they are designed to replace. As DSG venues are likely to occupy a new market, they will represent a case of supply-led growth. The extent to which DSG reaches new markets will depend on a range of situational variables including product mix, range of facilities and attraction, location of complementary activities such as shopping or entertainment, degree of marketing, and general amenity value. The real question is if this growth into new markets (and the harm caused by it, that is, the dispersal of problem gambling into new social groups) is to be offset by the reduction in convenience gambling.

What is important in the DSG model is its capability to socially reposition the burden of harm. The DSG markets are likely to be more affluent (given by the fact that DSG is predicated on increased accessibility which means more spatial mobility which in turn requires wealth). The incidence of problem gambling may increase in these new markets. Conversely, the accessibility of the less mobile, lower socioeconomic groups who live in areas highly provisioned to gambling opportunities may be reduced, resulting in a lowering of problem gambling. In essence this amounts to a trade-off. DSG gaming venues may increase problem gambling but this will be discounted by the reduction in convenience gambling.

The degree to which this trade-off occurs (i.e. an increase in the harm among new groups versus a decrease of harm in existing, lower socioeconomic groups) will be mediated by the ability of larger DSG venues to implement effective harm reduction strategies. This is an advantage of the destination concept. If we accept that DSG venues will be the diametric opposite of convenience gambling, they will not only have the advantages of venue-based regulation and monitoring or problems, they will also have a strong community attachment and involvement. This would place DSG venues in a powerful position to implement preventative harm reduction measures (including issues of venue design), monitoring strategies, and amelioration programs that are simply beyond the ability of smaller venues or convenience gambling styles.

Given that gambling operations (e.g. casinos and clubs) are increasingly positioned as socially responsible corporations with responsibilities to regulators, the potential exists for DSG venues to meaningfully involve local communities into the overall harm reduction framework. The support of local communities depends not only on the facilities and amenities that DSG will provide, but also on how the DSG as a harm reduction measure is marketed. The success of DSG will depend in part on how well this ideology of harm redistribution is accepted by the community – whether they are seen as a meaningful restriction and control of supply or as a mechanism for further EGM distribution.

This shortfall is particularly significant given the growth of commercial gambling over the past decade, both nationally and in the NT. Available statistics offer little insight into the patterns of gambling by the resident population. For example, they include internet and other gambling services exported by the NT as well as gambling expenditure by tourists and visitors to the NT. As a result, the proportion of gambling expenditure attributable to NT residents is difficult to estimate. More fundamentally, aggregate figures mask the diversity of gambling behaviour within the population.

Information is therefore needed about the prevalence of gambling, including participation rates and expenditure, along with estimates of the extent and social cost of problem gambling. By presenting an overview of the findings of the research project that Charles Darwin University (CDU) and its partners have been undertaking over the past 12 months, the current paper goes some way in addressing this shortfall.

The purpose of this discussion paper is to draw together three reports produced by the gambling team over the past year into an integrated overview and discussion of the nature, prevalence and associated social impacts of gambling in the NT. The gambling research project has consisted of three components: a telephone-based prevalence survey on gambling and problem gambling in the NT; a scoping study of gambling by the Indigenous population, and an assessment of the economic impacts of gambling in the NT. The results of each are comprehensively reported in separate documents:

1. Northern Territory Gambling Prevalence Survey.

2. Indigenous Gambling Scoping Study.

3. The Economic Impact of Gambling in the Northern Territory (completed by ACIL Tasman Consulting).

In order to brief partners and stakeholders on the outcomes of the study, this paper offers consideration and analysis of the most significant findings abstracted from the respective reports. This summary provides a base from which the CBF may consider future gambling policy and research in forthcoming years.