A battle is brewing over the use of the letters ‘RSL’ due to public confusion between the military veterans’ charity and licensed pubs with pokie machines.
Mick Bainbridge, president of the Returned and Services League of New South Wales, stressed that the not-for-profit veterans support organisation is separate from the licensed clubs RSL, Diggers and Memorial which made around $1 billion in profits in 2023.
He said the game had evolved since the Returned and Services League of Australia was separated from the clubs following the New South Wales Government’s Liquor Act Reform in the 1970s.
“We cannot, under any circumstances, allow there to be confusion between a not-for-profit organisation that exists to provide support to veterans and their families and a business that relies on gambling and the serving of alcohol,” Bainbridge told Daily Mail Australia.
At the time the two entities split, “there was a close affiliation between the clubs and the non-profit organisation RSL NSW and many veterans were members of both,” he said.
‘Due to the lineup of the members at the time, a relaxed stance was taken regarding the use of the name ‘RSL’. However, a lot has changed since then.
“It’s 2024: the game has changed and the impact is huge.”
Mr Bainbridge said the two entities no longer shared any association and it was time to return the borrowed name to his non-profit organisation.
A battle is brewing over the use of the letters ‘RSL’ due to public confusion between the military veterans’ charity and licensed pubs with slot machines (pictured, slot machines in Sydney)
Vietnam War veterans march on Anzac Day on April 25, 2024
“The real RSL – the non-profit organisation that supports veterans – is dedicated to care and welfare, and we would like our name to be protected,” Bainbridge said.
“It is time for clubs to change the name they adopted 60 years ago. Frankly, it needs to be given back.”
In the decades since then, Bainbridge said, “clubs have grown and gambling has become an important part of their business and, in some cases, detrimental to their local communities, including veterans and their families.”
“It is the job of RSL NSW – and it is in our constitution as our charitable purpose – to look after the welfare of veterans and their families,” Bainbridge said.
His intervention came after an analysis revealed that only four per cent of charitable donations from RSL clubs go to returned soldiers.
In 2023, RSL clubs spent $35 million on community grants, but only $1.3 million of that amount went to veterans’ wellbeing services.
NSW RSL president Mick Bainbridge (centre) stressed that the not-for-profit veterans support organisation is independent of the licensed RSL clubs, Diggers and Memorial.
A battle is brewing over the use of the letters RSL (pictured) due to public confusion between the military veterans charity and chartered clubs that also use the name.
That $1.3 million figure is roughly the same amount that Castle Hill RSL donated to its own golf club, the The Sydney Morning Herald information.
Seven Hills Toongabbie RSL Club paid almost the same amount for the maintenance of its golf course through two separate grants of more than $600,000 to a golf shop and a course maintenance company.
The row over the use of the letters RSL and the public’s association of the name with gambling and alcohol arose shortly after the publication of a landmark Royal Commission into veteran suicides.
The final report concluded that around Probably 3,000 soldiers have died unnecessarily in the last 30 years.
Personnel were found to be 20 times more likely to die by suicide than in combat, with at least 1,677 serving and former servicemen taking their own lives between 1997 and 2021.
Other studies have shown that veterans are a high-risk group for gambling problems and experience higher levels of gambling harm than the general community.
As many as 13.4 percent of veterans reported at least some level of gambling harm, and 4.6 percent had clinically significant levels.
The NSW RSL president said it was time for clubs to return the name they adopted more than 50 years ago to their not-for-profit organisation (pictured, slot machines in Melbourne)
The New South Wales Labor government is reviewing the state’s ClubGrants program to see if it offers value for money and meets expected standards.
In its submission to the process, the NSW RSL requested a new funding category specific to veterans’ welfare.
It has also recommended that all clubs using defence-related branding and imagery, such as RAAF aircraft, soldier silhouettes, poppies and weaponry, be required to contribute to this category.
“This will ensure that recognition of veterans is not symbolic, but adequately supports what the clubs claim to stand for,” the document states.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted RSL and Service Clubs Association president Margot Smith for comment on the call for clubs to stop using the RSL name and military branding and imagery.
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