THE REGULATION OF 'UNREGULATED' ABORIGINAL GAMBLING. Marisa Paterson

Abstract

In Australia, Aboriginal card games fall outside mainstream government regulation and industry commercialization. Consequently, these card games, or the act of playing these games is often referred to as 'unregulated', 'non-commercial' or 'community' card games or gambling. Viewed through the lens of conventional gaming policy and regulation these assumptions seem self-evident. However, such assumptions have led to a very inaccurate understanding of Aboriginal card games. Aboriginal gaming structures work in their own context to create an internal regulatory system, some aspects of which have a corresponding resonance in the mainstream gaming industry. There are rules and regulations that structure the games, intended to both protect the individual and the community against the harmful effects of gambling, as well as to protect the games from corruption and cheating. After extended fieldwork in the Northern Territory, it is my hypothesis that the current representation of Aboriginal gambling as 'unregulated' is inaccurate. The aim of this paper is to sketch a picture of the regulatory regime of a large Aboriginal community in order to provide a greater platform from which to approach the issues surrounding Aboriginal gambling. Failure to recognize the existence of an 'Indigenous regulatory regime' will almost certainly lead to failure in producing effective strategies to minimize harm from gambling.

Biography:Marisa Paterson is currently doing a PhD at Charles Darwin University (CDU), project funded by the Australian Research Council. The aim of this research project has been to better understand the impacts of gambling on Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. The research has focused on both card games and poker machine use. Marisa has just completed extensive fieldwork in a large Aboriginal community and in Darwin.