The hotel industry in SA has developed an historic initiative aimed at reducing the level of problem gambling in the community.

Gaming Care, the Hotels Responsible Gambling Early Intervention Agency, is one of the most significant projects ever undertaken by the hotel industry in SA to address problem gambling and at the time of its establishment in 2005, it was thought to be the first scheme of its type in operation in Australian hotels.

Gaming Care’s core business can be summarised as follows:

• Assist gaming venue owners, licensees, managers and gaming room staff in the early identification of, and support for patrons who may be at risk of or experiencing difficulties with their gambling behaviour
• Facilitate open lines of communication with gaming machine venues and gambling help services at the local level
• Assist in developing and promoting initiatives, programs and venue policies designed to address problem gambling
• Provide practical assistance to gaming licensees and managers in relation to compliance with regulatory Responsible Gambling and Advertising Codes of Practice
• Undertake audits to assist gaming venues comply with the regulatory codes of practice with a particular focus on patron intervention

In essence, Gaming Care’s core business, its fundamental reason for being is to support the Hotel industry and individual venues, their management and staff, to identify problem gamblers and facilitate early access to gambling support services by those gamblers i.e. early intervention.

In 2006, South Australia’s Independent Gambling Authority (IGA) in its “Review Regulatory Functions Codes of Practice, game approval guidelines and gaming machine licensing guidelines’ Report acknowledged the significant impact made by the Industry through the Gaming Care initiative and announced publicly that if it were not for Gaming Care (and Club Safe) then additional measures other than those recommended within second stage codes of practice would be imposed on venues.

Exemptions from five second stage code of practice measures are available to those venues that enter into a formal working arrangement with Gaming Care.

“if it were not for the emergency of Gaming Care and Club Safe.. the Authority would now be recommending further serious machine number reductions directed at achieving a 30% reduction in the number of premises with gaming..”