She feels for families struggling to deal with gambling addiction and remains committed to offering help and support.

Mrs Roberts is the Executive Officer of the Gambling Impacts Society(GIS) and she hopes people all over the South Coast will attend an one-day public seminar to be hosted by the GIS on Wednesday September 6 at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus.

When more than $61 million in one year alone in the Shoalhaven in poker machine profits is taken from local people and $143 million in Wollongong Mrs Roberts said action must be taken.

“These are astonishing new facts about the harms caused by gambling to individuals, families and community,” she said. 

“Up until this point governments have put a lot of energy into measuring and understanding the sharp pointy end of the spectrum - those with gambling addictions, but what this research is telling us is that we really need to understand the full spectrum of harms and work as community to prevent and address them.”

See video as Mrs Roberts explains about the human costs of problem gambling.

RELATED: Shoalhaven pours money away

The seminar aims to provide a range of stimulating ideas for discussion and opportunities for the public, community services and welfare agencies to come together to consider how to respond to these impacts and reduce the associated risks.

Many issues will be discussed at a one-day public seminar to be hosted by the GIS and its title is  ‘understanding and responding to the spectrum of gambling harms’.

The Lord Mayor of Wollongong Gordon Bradbery will open the event, followed by a range of guest speakers including Rev. Tim Costello (Alliance for Gambling Reform), Erika Langham (Queensland Central University), Mrs Roberts (GIS), Justin Field (NSW MLC), Proudly Pokies Free Venue campaigners Tim and Anna Lawrence and people who have lived experience of gambling harms (consumer voices).

For more details about the program see www.gisnsw.org.au or purchase tickets at  http://bit.ly/2rTlvYS