Family and Domestic Violence and Gambling Harm in NSW: Developing the Evidence Base

About the study

This project explored how gambling harm and family and domestic violence intersect in NSW, aiming to inform services for people experiencing both. Family and domestic violence refers to behaviours that cause or intend to cause fear or harm within intimate partner or family relationships.

The research aimed to:

1. Demonstrate links between gaming machines and family and domestic violence risk in NSW, and identify geographical areas where more targeted approaches, services, or policy interventions are needed (stage 1).
   
   
2. Identify current service gaps and needs from service provider perspectives to better respond to clients who experience both gambling harm and family and domestic violence (stage 2). 

This study was funded by a research grant from the Responsible Gambling Fund to the Australian National University.

The methodology

Stage 1 involved an analysis of longitudinal data from 2017–2023 across NSW to assess the relationship between gaming machine numbers and family and domestic violence rates. The analysis controlled for factors such as socioeconomic status, health issues, and the rates of other crimes in the area.

Stage 2 involved interviews with 33 service providers across NSW, including gambling support, family and domestic violence, mental health, and child and family services. The interviews explored how often gambling harm and family and domestic violence co-occur, the practices used in current support services, and what providers need to better support clients.

Key findings

The study offers new insights into how gambling harm and family and domestic violence intersect in NSW.

• There is an association between the number of gaming machines in an area and the police-recorded domestic violence rates. When gaming machine numbers increase, family and domestic violence incidents also rise. Though the increase is small, it is statistically significant. The longitudinal analysis suggests that this link is causal.
• In some parts of NSW gaming machines had a particularly strong effect on police-recorded domestic violence rates. These areas included metropolitan Sydney and the regional North and North-Western parts of NSW near the border with Queensland.
• There is a need for integrated service responses to address family and domestic violence and gambling. This should enable efficient referral pathways across different services, including child and family services.
• Service providers want training modules and resources related to gambling-related family and domestic violence.

Limitations

Some limitations of this report include that domestic violence data only includes police-reported incidents resulting in proceedings, meaning that rates are likely to be an underestimate. While the statistical models accounted for key sociodemographic factors (e.g. socioeconomic status, rates of physical and health problems, rates of other crimes), they excluded some relevant variables, such as proximity to alcohol outlets. The sample of 33 interviews was also relatively small, and researchers only interviewed service providers and not clients.

Suggested citation

Suomi, A., Perry, J., Rehill, P., Boxall, H., Rees, S., & Noble-Carr, D., & Cowlishaw, S. (2025). Family and domestic violence and gambling harm in NSW. Australian National University. Canberra. DOI: 10.25911/67B9-H228, ISBN: 978-0-6451893-0-8