We are pleased to announce that we have received a grant from Gambling Awareness Nova Scotia (GANS) to continue our development of a creative and fun interactive workshop that engages participants in simulating the impacts of VLTs on a community. This helps people see beyond the individual harms to the ripple effects that impact those who are not even involved in gambling. Watch our web site and Facebook page as we roll this out in 2021.
We are,however, concerned that the provincial government has decided to dissolve GANS and divert some funds away from gambling issues.
The provincial gov’t is dissolving Gambling Awareness Nova Scotia (GANS). GANS has been instrumental over the years in supporting community projects around gambling that aim to create safer communities. The provincial gov’t let us know they are potentially diverting a chunk of the GANS resource (which comes from gambling revenues) to more general mental health issues. We would like to see the resources go to community health promotion efforts focused on reducing gambling harms instead.
GRINS has been working on these issues for ten years (see timeline). We are not an anti-gambling organization – we seek to create a community cultural shift towards informed and caring gambling practices, and a shift away from blaming the victims (labelled “problem gamblers”) to identifying “gambling problems” caused by unsafe technologies and ineffective regulation. (The province is in conflict of interest as both regulator and beneficiary of the income.)
Recent gambling policy changes in Canada have led to increased opportunities to legally bet on sports and gamble online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Released today, Gambling Availability and Advertising in Canada: A Call to Action looks at the impacts of legal gambling in Canada since the approval of the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting…
Speak to your local legislators to let them know the harms that this will bring. Read the full story on CBC web site: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/online-gambling-why-provinces-are-eager-to-jump-in-1.3001852 Walk into nearly any corner store in the country and the sight of a lottery terminal doesn’t cause so much as a ripple, but that wasn’t always so. Before Parliament changed…
GRINS-Annual Report March2018 Kings Community Action Group on Gambling officially changed its name to Gambling Risk Informed Nova Scotia Society. This reflects our desire to reach out as a model to other regions of the province and to clarify our purpose to create an informed and caring community that promotes wellness and empowers citizens to…
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new name and website! We have recently changed our name from Kings County Action Group on Gambling (KCAGoG) to Gambling Risk Informed Nova Scotia (GRINS). We are also pleased to be launching our new website showcasing our new branding! Please take a few moments to look…
Annapolis Valley, NS – The Kings Community Action Group on Gambling (KCAGoG) will host A Celebration of Our Work on Friday, June 20. Starting at 2 pm at Just Us Roastery in Grand Pre, KCAGoG will also hold their annual general meeting following the celebration. “Gambling harms impact the entire community – about $4 million…