Gordon is well known to rugby league fans for his career with the Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers which saw him take home Dally M Winger Of The Year honours in 1990.

After a brief career as a school teacher, Gordon turned his attention to helping indigenous communities tackle problem gambling, and this program follows several years as a gambling counsellor and researcher for Southern Cross University.

“These workshops are designed to promote discussion in Aboriginal communities about problem gambling,” Ashley explained.

“My goal is to educate communities about gambling and also, through workshops and community discussion, how gambling is affecting communities so we can develop effective strategies.”

As part of his workshop, Ashley presents the facts and figures which show the true reality of problem gambling in NSW.

NSW currently has 10 per cent of the world’s poker machines and the NSW Population Health Survey found that four per cent of Aboriginal people felt they had a gambling problem, and 10 per cent knew someone with a gambling problem.

The program has found that not enough Aboriginal people are seeking help and many have a fear of sharing problems.

With many Aboriginal people and communities yet to recognise that gambling is a problem, Ashley hopes programs such as his can bring about attitudinal change

“It’s about changing attitudes, a lot of Aboriginal people don’t think long-term financially or have any idea or budgets and things like that,” he explained.

“Many Aboriginal people are unemployed and used to not having money anyway, so being broke is normal for them and losing money on the pokies doesn’t seem so bad.”

According to Ashley, gambling in Aboriginal communities is often linked to other issues and is a form of escape.

“A lot of the time Aboriginal people live in crowded houses under poor conditions so gambling is an escape from other problems.”

As part of his visit Ashley will meet with service providers supporting Aboriginal people in health, education, employment and housing to discuss problem gambling.

Programs like Ashley’s are supported by the new Aboriginal Gambling Helpline (1800 752 948) and the various and wide-ranging efforts of “Close the Gap,” charities.