Abstract

A growing body of research demonstrates a strong association between gambling harm and family and domestic violence (FDV) in both treatment-seeking and general populations. However, there remains limited empirical evidence on how gambling availability contributes to FDV risk at the population level and how service systems respond to clients experiencing co-occurring harms. This study aimed to address these gaps through two complementary research stages examining both structural risk factors and service system responses in New South Wales (NSW).

Stage 1 examined the geographic association between electronic gaming machine (EGM) accessibility and police-recorded FDV incidents across NSW between 2017 and 2023. Area-level analyses linking EGM density and proximity with Suburb and Locality (SAL) FDV incident data showed a significant association between EGM density and FDV rates, independent of other sociodemographic and health factors. Some regions experienced substantially elevated FDV rates associated with higher EGM density, with the strongest effects observed in parts of metropolitan Sydney and northern regional NSW, where coverage of gambling support services was also relatively limited.

Stage 2 explored service provider perspectives on gambling-related violence through interviews with 33 practitioners across gambling support, FDV, mental health, and child and family services. Participants reported that co-occurring gambling harm and FDV were common among clients and often involved complex patterns of both victimisation and perpetration with economic and social adversity. Financial abuse and coercive control were identified as the forms of violence most frequently associated with gambling, although emotional and physical violence were also present. Service providers described significant challenges in identifying and responding to gambling-related violence, including limited screening tools, fragmented referral pathways, and a lack of integrated service models across sectors.

Together, the findings highlight the need for coordinated policy and service responses that recognise gambling-related violence as a distinct and under-addressed issue within both gambling harm and FDV systems.

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