John Howard admitted in 1999 that he was ashamed of pokies. This week Tony Abbott ignored his mentor’s view and more than a decade of research into the reforms needed to address problem gambling.
Mr Abbott announced that “everyone wants to do a better deal to help problem gamblers”. Unfortunately Mr Abbott has fallen for the temptation of the pokies industry’s political game, and played with the lives of thousands of problem gamblers.
I’m astonished that anyone could think that in facing up to our national gambling problem we would be tearing at our social fabric. It’s problem gambling, not reform, that is wreaking havoc on Australian communities, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.
I’m surprised that the same politicians who preach fiscal prudence and living within our means at a national level can be so reckless and thoughtless when it comes to the wellbeing of Australian families. We have to tackle this some time. It just can’t be ignored.
Let’s be clear – everyone understands having a punt on Melbourne Cup Day. And we know that a game of two-up on Anzac day is an old tradition. What I can’t accept is that thousands of Australian families go hungry every day because of problem gambling.
The current debate around pokies reform is not about the choice to have a punt. It’s about protecting families from the pain that comes with the addiction to poker machines.
After a decade of research and a comprehensive report by the Productivity Commission, we know the answers to address why 40 per cent of all profits come from problem gambling. We don’t need another political debate. We just need to put those most vulnerable in our society first, and deliver poker machine reform because it affects all of us. After illicit drugs, pokies are the second greatest contributor to crime.
Some 86 per cent of problem gambling in Australia is from pokies. Why? Because Australia has the highest loss machines in the world – it is possible to lose over $1,200 an hour on modern machines.
The concerns being voiced by the companies and clubs that make money from problem gamblers need to be weighed against the devastating impact of these losses on the individual, their family and even the economy.
The 2008 Productivity Commission into gambling estimated that problem gamblers lose an average of $21,000 a year gambling – and that the social cost of problem gambling is at least $4.7 billion per year.
Deliver pokies reform and we will see people spending more time at their children’s sporting events, rather than sporting clubs playing pokies, and everyone wins.
Supporters of pokies reform are not interested in stopping people enjoying recreational gambling. The reforms currently proposed will barely impact on the majority of players. While you may have missed it in the clubs’ misinformation campaign, the Wilkie scheme does not require pre-commitment for lower loss machines, which have maximum bets of $1 per spin and have an average hourly loss of $120 and consequently do less damage.
Mandatory pre-commitment will only apply to those high-loss machines that are causing the most damage. It will allow problem gamblers to set limits on their gambling. It helps problem gamblers to help themselves.
Mandatory pre-commitment does not promise to solve every problem but it does mean the industry could say it has put in place an important measure to protect consumers from harm. Until clubs can say they are doing this, their industry is unsustainable on ethical and business grounds.
Continue reading this story here: Abbott turns his back on problem gamblers.
