Community
3 March, 2026
Tharawal to lead youth-designed gambling harm campaign across Macarthur
The Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation will spearhead a new Aboriginal youth-led campaign aimed at tackling gambling harm across the Macarthur.
The Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation will spearhead a new Aboriginal youth-led campaign aimed at tackling gambling harm across the Macarthur.
The project, titled Don’t Get Caught in the Gambling Net, has secured $150,000 under the NSW Government’s Our Mob, Our Media, Our Message grants program.
The funding follows data showing 10.4 per cent of Aboriginal people in NSW experience at-risk gambling, compared with 3.8 per cent of the broader population.
Based in Campbelltown, Tharawal is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation delivering culturally safe health and wellbeing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Under the 12-month campaign, young Aboriginal people will help co-design culturally specific social media content through on-country workshops and storytelling sessions. The aim is to create messages about gambling harm that resonate with Aboriginal youth and are shaped by their lived experience.
The program is being delivered through the Office of Responsible Gambling, which offered $400,000 in total grants to three Aboriginal organisations across NSW.
Minister for Gaming and Racing and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said the campaign model was about empowering communities to lead the conversation.
“The statistics showing the higher rates of Aboriginal people experiencing gambling harm in NSW are concerning,” he said.
“This partnership approach to reach young Aboriginal people will help close this unacceptable gap and ensure our goal of preventing and minimising gambling harm can be met across all communities.”
Two other organisations — Souths Cares and Ungooroo Aboriginal Corporation — also received funding to run youth-focused digital awareness campaigns in their regions.
Tharawal have 18 months to deliver and evaluate their project.
Read More: Wollondilly, Campbelltown