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Poker Machine Pre-Commitment Law

Are you in favour of the mandatory pre-commitment plan to reduce problem gambling?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 68.0%
  • No

    Votes: 8 32.0%
  • Don't know enough about it.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .
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Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Really interesting article in today's Age. Removing the feature from the machines seems a pretty logical way to go. Of course, if it is the most addictive part of a poker machine then there'll be howls of anger from the clubs if a proposal to remove them ever gets up.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/the-key-to-helping-pokie-addicts-lies-in-lure-of-the-feature-20111109-1n7ar.html

The key to helping pokie addicts lies in lure of the feature
Scott Eagar
November 10, 2011

"Why don't politicians take a look at what makes pokies addictive in the first place, and remove it?" ... Scott Eagar. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

Pokies survey results

Hi, I'm Scott Eagar and I'm a nobody, an everyday guy. I'm a roofer in the day and a boxing coach at nights. I'm also an ex-poker machine addict. I used to be one of the people this government is supposedly trying to help.

The government and the independent Andrew Wilkie are finally trying to do something about the teachers, builders, pensioners, housewives, and white and blue collar workers who are secretly but painfully addicted to the cash cow that is the dreaded poker machine. But they're going the wrong way about it.

I rang the David Oldfield show on 2UE last week with an idea for how to greatly reduce, if not solve, this epidemic. It's simple: remove the ''feature''.

David told me I was wrong, naturally, even though he later admitted he didn't know what the feature was.

Also known as the ''free spins'', the feature is the symbol that awards you free games if you get three or more of it in a spin. It is the elephant in the room. The chase for the feature is why players overspend.

Every player sits down with their hard-earned cash, hoping to get it. It is our ''high'', our drug. I have spent hundreds of dollars in a sitting waiting for the feature, sometimes winning only $20 or so for my toil. How stupid is that? But ask any pokie player and they've lived out that scenario over and again.

So why are we debating the introduction of a costly and problematic pre-commitment card? Why are they talking about a $1 maximum bet, which means you can still blow a week's wages in a matter of hours? Why are they talking about slowing the spins down, which means players will still blow everything they have - they'll just take twice as long to do it? Why are they talking about reducing the jackpot? You will still spend every cent hoping to win it, only to get half as much when you do.

Why don't politicians take a look at what makes pokies addictive in the first place, and remove it?

My suggestion is based on experience, anxiety, lost money, lost sleep, guilt, disgust, even tears. To prove it, I went to all my local pubs and clubs and asked five questions of actual pokie players. I was asked to leave four of these venues by staff.

I interviewed 202 players over four days. A lot of them initially said they only spent the occasional $20 note. Later they would tell me the truth. Many opened up. I saw the shame, anger, sadness, frustration, sense of loss and disillusionment in their eyes. I felt the same once.

The survey results were not surprising, but emphatic: 84 per cent agreed that the feature was the most addictive component and the main reason they played; 90 per cent said they regularly felt like they were waiting for the feature during game play; 83 per cent said that removing the feature would make the machines less addictive.

It was an amateur survey, but these were actual players, not grandmothers answering a phone survey because they had nothing better to do.

I forwarded my results to Andrew Wilkie's assistant. I got a response that said they were interesting, ''but don't hold your breath for a response from Andrew as he's a busy guy''.

I rang the relevant minister Jenny Macklin's office twice. Her assistant was also interested in my results but no one got back to me.

I tried my local member. No reply. 2GB? Nothing. What about Senator Nick Xenophon's office? Nope. Not even 2UE would take my call again.

When my children grow up, I don't want them pre-committing to bet a certain amount; I want them to play less addictive machines, or none at all.

The feature is to a poker machine, what caffeine is to coffee. But instead of removing the caffeine, the politicians are debating how much milk to add, or whether the coffee should be served in a mug or a cup.

Open your eyes and you will see that addiction and over-spending on poker machines is at epidemic proportions in Australia. Go to any pub or club and talk to people long enough and you'll get the real story. You won't get it from a phone survey. Most addicts won't tell their spouses or loved ones of their problem, let alone the government or a stranger who rings at dinner time.

The answer is with us, the players. The answer is the removal of the addictive ''feature''.

Scott Eagar is preparing a submission to the parliamentary joint select committee on gambling reform.
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Great article Jnor, thanks for posting this.
I was quite shocked when I got halfway through the article and he's done actual research. Kudos to Scott Eager, I hope he gets heard.
 

Cutter

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
An interesting stat published in the smh today:

Money spent on gambling, including poker machines, betting at the races, casinos and lottery tickets in the 12 months ended September.














$18.5 billion

That is huge.
 

Ruggo

Mark Ella (57)
Serously, is technology the answer to this problem? Looking at the modern day pokie machine it is fare to say it is part of the problem. It is discraceful that you play one by inserting an eftpos card or paper money into one to obtain credits. Surly a wind back of technology has to be the answer. Coins should be the only thing you can put into them. Plus any old Tom, Dick or Harry can go into a gaming area these days. A fairly respectable dress standard used to be on of the criteria to enter on in days gone passed.
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
Anyone surprised?

scaled.php


http://www.economist.com/blogs/dail...cn/tw/te/MP (Moana Pasifika)/thebiggestlosers
 

waratahjesus

Greg Davis (50)
Not surprised, but the breakdown would be interesting, I've heard it said that more than half the money out through crown casino is from Asian tourists. Would be hard to get a breakdown of actual Australians gambling and actual totals.
 

Jnor

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Saw that on the twitterz this morning. Even if a lot of it is tourist gambling I find it pretty difficult to comprehend those numbers when literally no-one I know would be near half of that. A more defined demographic split I'm sure would make interesting and probably depressing reading
 

Bullrush

John Hipwell (52)
Not surprised, but the breakdown would be interesting, I've heard it said that more than half the money out through crown casino is from Asian tourists. Would be hard to get a breakdown of actual Australians gambling and actual totals.

Just from this line in the article, I'm guessing that they have actually taken the tourist gambling out of this already:

Macau and Monaco, which derive nearly all of their gambling revenue from tourists, do not make the list.
 

waratahjesus

Greg Davis (50)
Just from this line in the article, I'm guessing that they have actually taken the tourist gambling out of this already:

There two big or at least well known casinos, I read it as they still didn't make it despite that.

1300 er resident seems like a pretty high number. Not surprised were on top though, we have more access to it than most countries
 

Cutter

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Saw that on the twitterz this morning. Even if a lot of it is tourist gambling I find it pretty difficult to comprehend those numbers when literally no-one I know would be near half of that. A more defined demographic split I'm sure would make interesting and probably depressing reading

I worked in a club in Sydney when I was at Uni. Mostly it's clientelle was made up of professionals, stock brokers, businessmen etc but also the odd white collar worker with no tertiary qualifications.

There were probably 100 really regular gamblers who came in. Of those, probably 30 were hard core and 15 super hard core. The 15 would easily drop $1,000 a week and sometimes per play (though they didn't play every day).

I'm not surprised at the figures.
 

Gagger

Nick Farr-Jones (63)
Staff member
Very true - put 9k in a pokie and there's no audit trail that you put it in. Take 9k out of a pokie and you get a receipt. Tax man asks and you won it.

What are the % returns from a pokie??
 

Karl

Bill McLean (32)
Those numbers DO surprise me. I would have said, if asked, that we would have been on par with or less than, say, the Yanks. I mean they have Vegas and the Indian Reservations etc for Casino's and a few other places, and LOADS of betting on Sports etc.

Does it include Racetrack/TAB/Sporting bet type gambling?
 
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