New research from Australia has shown that when parents engage in risky gambling, it can negatively affect the physical health, mental well-being, and educational outcomes of their children. This highlights the need to view gambling harm not just as an issue for the gambler, but also as a concern for child health and family well-being. The study, conducted by the Australian National University (ANU), combined data from two major national surveys with interviews from professionals working in gambling support and child and family services in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It found that children of parents who gamble excessively tend to have worse physical health, mental health, and emotional well-being, as well as lower engagement with school. Lead researcher Associate Professor Aino Suomi, director of the ANU Center for Gambling Research, emphasized that the harms of gambling often extend beyond the person gambling. "Children have largely been invisible in the way we think about gambling harm. They are often grouped together with 'affected others,' but children are uniquely dependent on their parents and on the stability of their family environment," Suomi said. The study found that the negative effects on children were not only due to gambling itself but were also worsened by financial hardship, which can lead to disrupted parenting and strained parent-child relationships. The research also looked into how child and family services in the ACT identify and respond to gambling-related harm. Practitioners noted that gambling-related issues are often hidden due to stigma and shame, and may be overshadowed by more immediately visible problems like family violence or mental health issues. However, the study found that there are already strong elements within the ACT’s service system that could be improved without creating entirely new services. These include increasing awareness of how parental gambling affects children, incorporating questions about gambling into existing family assessments, and improving collaboration between gambling support, child and family services, and financial counseling. ACT Minister for Gaming Reform, Health and Mental Health, Dr. Marisa Paterson, said the research underscores the importance of recognizing gambling harm as a broader public health issue. "This research provides important new evidence about how gambling harm can affect not only individuals, but the health and well-being of children and families," she said. The findings suggest that by understanding how children are affected, policymakers and service providers can improve prevention efforts, identify harm earlier, and connect families with the support they need.