In 2021, Tarneit Titans Netball Club engaged with the Victorian Government’s Love the Game program through its partnership with Netball Victoria, to encourage kids to love the game, not the odds.
88% of Victorian sports fans are concerned that young people (12–17 years) are overexposed to gambling ads, with children forming attitudes about gambling long before they turn 18. Faced with this alarming statistic, the Tarneit Titans’ committee took action to sign up to Love the Game to help educate and protect the 300+ players and families that form their engaged netball community.
The Love the Game initiative doesn’t require clubs, associations and leagues to make drastic measures to their everyday operations, but encourages the small steps to build awareness and allow for safe conversations around gambling in sport.
Tarneit has promoted the initiative through their social media channels and has participated in their league’s Love the Game round to highlight the risks associated with gambling and the position it can put families and children in.
One of the first actions the club took when they became aware of the program was to cease their footy tipping competition.
‘We used to have a footy tipping competition with kids involved. It wasn’t until we signed up for the Love the Game program that we learned more about the risk and statistics, so we decided to ditch the competition,’ said Tarneit Titans Netball Club president, Julie Dyson.
‘Love the Game is about bringing awareness to us as a committee, as leaders in our community and as adults about what our kids are exposed to, and how that can affect their lives,’ said Dyson.
‘At Tarneit, we want to build a healthy environment, and harmful gambling is certainly not part of that.’
The accessibility and narrative around gambling plays a major part in the development of a child’s attitude towards gambling, and it’s the normalisation of betting and sports that the Love the Game program is working to disrupt.
More than 700 local and elite sporting clubs are already partnered with Love the Game. The program is free to join, and benefits include resources to promote your club as a healthy and safe place including invitations to events, activities, and education sessions, opportunities to participate in Love the Game themed rounds, giveaways and merchandise, and access to a gambling action plan to implement in your club.
Netball Victoria encourages affiliates to take a stand against sports betting sponsorship to help juniors love the game, not the odds.
Sign your netball club up to Love the Game at lovethegame.vic.gov.au.
