What Tūturu is learning about youth gambling this Gambling Harm Awareness Week

This Gambling Harm Awareness Week (2-8 September 2024), we want to highlight the health impacts gambling can have on young people, and what we want to do about it.  

Tūturu is developing an approach to ensure young people in Aotearoa have the information, resources and skills they need about gambling harm and the gambling-related features they encounter online. This will help them make better choices when it comes to gambling, gaming, social media, and other online activities, both for themselves and others. 

Tūturu commissioned the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) to do a Rapid Literature Review. The review, titled Under the radar: A rapid review of recent literature about youth problem gambling, looked at different ways schools could address youth gambling and then gave Tūturu advice on the best approach.  

The review explored six key questions: 

• What is problem gambling, how does it develop over time, and what do we know about problem gambling among youth in Aotearoa New Zealand? 
• What can we learn from school-based approaches to addressing youth gambling?
• What can we learn from curriculum approaches to youth gambling?
• What can we learn from Māori, Pacific, and Asian perspectives on youth gambling?
• How does problem gambling connect with online gaming?
• What can we learn from studies on youth gambling risk and protective factors? 

Findings from the Rapid Review include: 

• Young people need skills to manage a world with constant exposure to gambling. 
• Youth gambling is an equity issue, due to a range of factors, research shows Māori, Pasifika and Asian young people are the most likely to experience harm. Culturally responsive approaches in schools are essential.
• Innovative, multifaceted and sustained approaches are needed in schools – making this a great fit within Tūturu.
• School approaches are only one part of a public health response, these need to sit alongside regulations that restrict youth availability and access to gambling products and venues.  

See the full report here

Using the findings to develop resources 

The insights from the NZCER report give us a strong foundation to create effective resources for schools. We will use these findings to guide the development of tools and materials that support young people in making informed choices about gambling and related activities. Our goal is to have these resources ready to share with schools by 1 July 2025.

Signs that a young person might be experiencing gambling harm include: 

• Hiding spending or having unexplained expenses.
• Borrowing money.
• Feeling guilty and anxious about the time and money spent gambling.
• Trying to win back money or items that have been lost.
• Losing interest in things that used to be fun. 

If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s gambling, please reach out to your local service provider. 

Please contact abby.popham@drugfoundation.org.nz for further information about the Rapid Review or the project overall.