Australian researchers have warned of disturbingly high attempted suicide rates among veterans with gambling addictions, days after it was revealed New South Wales RSL clubs had pushed back against proposed gambling reforms.
A soon-to-be-published study led by Dr Olivia Metcalf found 40% of Australian veterans with gambling addictions have thought about ending their lives while one in five have attempted to kill themselves.
“That statistic is particularly high and while we don’t have great comparable civilian data, it looks like the rate among veterans is higher” than the general population, she said.
Metcalf, a behavioural scientist, said: “That pattern is found in other trauma-affected populations but it seems particularly concerning in terms of veterans and we need to do more to understand this given they are vulnerable to suicide.”
The chief executive of NSW RSL and Services Clubs Association, Margot Smith, has called on members to provide “a more balanced view of gambling” and to help resist the state government’s efforts to reform gaming.
“Unfortunately Australia has always been relatively apathetic in a political sense, so we need to awaken the silent majority and ask them to support the clubs who have been supporting them for so long,” Smith said in a recent newsletter.
Metcalf’s research found veterans were almost twice as likely to develop gambling addictions than the general population – with 13% displaying habits within five years of ending their service.
But she said it was not clear what impact the prevalence of poker machines at many RSL clubs had on the rate of suicide ideation or attempts.
“We are not able to answer that question because we do not have the data and I think that’s a real concern because of the unique nature of Australia’s gambling environment,” Metcalf said.
The head of psychiatry at Flinders University, Prof Malcolm Battersby, who also contributed to the research, criticised the RSL’s links with gambling.
“It’s really concerning that the very organisations that are meant to be providing care and service to veterans are actually exploiting vulnerable people who are most likely to contribute to gambling losses and harm to themselves,” Battersby said.
“They are making profits out of misery and this is completely counter to what the RSL was set up to do in the first place.”
Battersby, who established the South Australian gambling and therapy service in the 1990s, said veterans had had issues with gambling for many years. “It looks like there is some association between trauma and distress, arousal and depression that seems to predict gambling problems and suicide,” he said.
The study is under peer-review and is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
Many RSL clubs rely on poker machine revenue to support commercial operations as well as charitable donations and services.
The Dee Why RSL in NSW recorded $36.2m in revenue through poker machines in 2021 up from $30.3m a year earlier.
The club’s annual report shows $1.4m was spent on local community support.
In 2020 the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority ordered Dee Why RSL to pay $200,000 in fines and costs after the suicide of a patron.
Smith told members NSW RSL clubs was “committed to finding a digital solution” to “help problem gamblers and to keep money launderers out of our clubs”.
“We provide sustainable and responsible gambling for our patrons, in addition to all of the other facilities and connections we provide in our communities,” she said. “We stand by that.”
Smith was contacted for comment.
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
