Pleasures and Risks Associated with Bingo Playing in an Australian Aboriginal Community: Lessons for Policy and Intervention.

Bingo playing in Australian Indigenous communities has received little academic attention. We report here on an exploratory study designed to understand the complex benefits and harms associated with bingo playing for Aboriginal people in Sunraysia, a regional community in Victoria, Australia. The research was strongly participatory, and conducted in collaboration with staff of an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation. Twenty-six members of the Sunraysia Aboriginal community were interviewed, with interviews primarily conducted by workers from the Aboriginal organisation. Echoing research from other countries, but with a unique focus on the experience of bingo for Aboriginal people in Australia, this study demonstrates compelling reasons why Aboriginal people in Sunraysia play bingo, and how bingo playing both exposes players to risk and mitigates against a wide range of harms. We found that, for many people in the study, bingo was variously a site that reinforces social connectedness, a source of fun and excitement and a strategy to find solace or respite in the face of personal pain and structural injustice. In contrast with other forms of gambling, bingo presents risks that can generally be managed, largely because of the smaller financial spend involved. However, people also described harms including exhausting the family budget, family conflict and encouragement to commence other forms of gambling. We argue for enhanced regulation of commercial bingo and suggest that not-for-profit bingo be implemented as a harm reduction strategy to enable people to experience some of the pleasures associated with gambling, with reduced risk of financial and social harms.

Critical considerations in responding to crystal methamphetamine use in Australian Aboriginal communities.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: This article identifies factors that participants in a study based in an Australian regional centre believed to be critical to understanding and responding to crystal methamphetamine (ice) use among Aboriginal people. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study entailed a participatory methodology involving a university and an Aboriginal community controlled organisation. Semi-structured interviews conducted with ice users (n = 14), family members (n = 6) and workers (n = 6) were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Interviewees believed that historical trauma, contemporary disadvantage and racism cohere to produce a market for ice and other drugs within Aboriginal communities. Intense shame prevented some ice users and their families from seeking help, while fear about ice use was exacerbated when suppliers of ice threatened violence. Disconnection from family and community further intensified a sense of isolation and despair. By contrast, family reintegration provided ice users in the study with the strongest motivation for change. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although drawing only on a small sample of participants, the study suggests that Aboriginal people's experiences of ice use may have some distinct characteristics, meaning that tailored responses are required. Interventions should address the shame and ameliorate the fear that surround problematic ice use for families and users, provide help to those who feel trapped because of drug debts and relationships with dealers, and support families to maintain contact with ice users where this is manageable. Supports for users to remain connected to family and community are also critical. The effectiveness of family wellbeing interventions as adjuncts to treatment could be evaluated. [MacLean S, Hengsen R, Stephens R Critical considerations in responding to crystal methamphetamine use in Australian Aboriginal communities Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:502-508].