I don’t like poker machines. I think they are evil.
When I was growing up in Victoria during the 1970s and early 80s I knew that people travelled across the border to New South Wales to play the machines.
I found that strange, but it seemed a genuine social activity. People travelled in buses and made weekends of it. The clubs in New South Wales were so much bigger and more glamorous because they had pokies cash.
That created an inequality between towns along the border. Clubs on the NSW side of the Murray River boomed, while money was sucked from the Victorian side and amenities declined.
The Victorian Government was virtually forced into allowing pokies because of this. It was a necessary evil.
As far as I know however, poker machines in that state are pretty much limited to clubs and casinos.
That’s why I was surprised, no shocked, to find that most hotels in South Australia have poker machines. They are everywhere.
A new campaign has begun to remove them from hotels. Here is an editorial opinion piece I wrote for The Border Watch on the subject:
Editorial opinion
A Senate inquiry into poker machines has coincided with new data showing how much money is fed into the machines.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, $17.2m was spent on poker machines in the Mount Gambier district in 2007-08. This equates to an average of $520 per head.
Ironically, the total expenditure was $800,000 less than the previous year because smoking was banned in hotels.
Family First Senator Steve Fielding has drafted legislation calling for a limit on how much money can be put into the machines and suggests the use of pre-paid “smart cards”. He says state governments cannot be trusted to act on the problem because they are “hopelessly addicted to pokies profits”.
Senator Fielding’s proposals appear mild at first glance, such as restricting poker machines to racetracks and casinos.
Of course, the hotels industry in South Australia is aghast. They claim poker machines are a legitimate leisure activity and people would gamble elsewhere if they didn’t exist.
This ignores the fact poker machines can’t be found outside the casino in Western Australia.
The industry’s strongest argument is that almost 45pc of gaming revenue pours into government coffers as tax.
What sort of society relies on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling taxes to fund its schools and hospitals?
Poker machines are insidious devices that inflict misery on innocent victims.
It’s idealistic to ponder the social benefit of Mount Gambier’s $520 a head poker machine blowout going towards educating children or investing in our community’s future, but wouldn’t that be grand.
I often wondered why there were RSL clubs in the Eastern States when we don’t have them in WA. I’ve been enlightened in recent years that these and a lot of other “clubs” are hooked up to an infusion of money from poker machines. I hope they never get beyond the doors of the casino here and that Nick Xenophon smashes them into oblivion in the East.
I am a resident of WA and I do enjoy a flutter at Burswood Casino occasionally. I also like to save for things I may need like holidays, car or car repairs, computer parts etc…, however I spent the last 20 odd years in Qld and I have seen major benefits with the inclusion of poker machine venues ie: RSL and bowling clubs. What it has done for the individual communities is astounding and the problem of delinquents roaming the streets is largely reduced due to the general public present after hours. These venues are a great source of after work entertainment as well as a better alternative to unhealthy fast food outlets.
Let me ask you all a question!
WA people supposedly don’t want pokies because of the gambling problems created. So in regards to gambling, what about betting on football, horses, dogs, or other sports events, isn’t that going to create a gambling problem?
What about the thousands that flock to various bingo nights?
I have personally witnessed people, yes the same people who probably slam the pokies throwing hundreds of dollars away on the small rip prize cards not to mention playing up to 6 bingo cards at one time. Why we even gamble large amounts of money on scratchies, and lotto and lotteries.
Hey Why don’t we BAN raffles while we are at it.
Look it is so simple.
There are always going to be the savers, the gamblers and the spenders. We will never fix the problem by isolating the state from the rest of Australia even more. People who know how to manage money may or may not gamble , but there are always going to be the crowd who study the form guide in the hope that they will pick a winner.
I am ashamed to call myself a west aussie when the politicians have there own private votes about these matters. If it was such a problem (gambling) then why the hell did they allow Dallas Dempster to build the Burswood Casino. I can tell you the answer to that one in 3 simple letters. TAX!!!!
Also as a matter of interest, I have noticed that the percentage payout on the pokies at Burswood in considerably less than any other pokie venue around the country. I guess that means more TAX benefits as well, so where is the TAX going Mr Barnett????
I would be keen to hear your points as well. Cheers!
my husband who is only 25 is a compulsive gambler, we are moving to wa in a last try to save our marriage, we have lost our house and had to sell, i have discovered he has so much debt kept from me that he has to bankrupt himself. I had no idea how this addiction can destroy lives. I have thought about leaving him so many times and he has caused me so much pain and hurt that i myself have contemplated suicide. He attends GA meetings everyweek, but how is he meant to escape when they advertise ganbling here in QLD everywhere!On the footy games on t.v, on billboards, on park benches in every single pub and club. It’s disgusting. Why can”t Australia be like Canada and only have poker machines in Casinos. They dont have anything in pubs etc…
If you need help or just want to talk please call Lifeline 13 11 14.
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of playing the pokies and then ending up with a major problem. Sharing one another’s experiences will hopefully help to recognize the pitfalls. I too got caught and have been fighting to overcome my addiction for a second time, so far so good. Here are the issues I faced.
1. Boredom and the need to get excited, this is also akin to having an addictive personality, which I have. You know this when your constantly chasing the feature on the machine, so you get that rush of adrenalin in anticipation of what the payout will be.
2. Speaking of payouts, I initially began winning on the smaller denomination machines and then jumped on the dollar machines. Once you’ve cracked a decent payout on the dollar machines your now caught up in the belief that it will happen again, all the while the amount of money your willing to gamble increases dramatically but you tell yourself it will only take one good pay to make it up. And so the chase begins, good money after bad, the hole your digging is getting bigger and bigger. The only way out is to score that big win, so you convince yourself it’s only a matter of time and dangerously more money to gamble.
3. Access to money is the one that’s hard to control, gamblers are cunning and sneaky and will always find a way. Cutting up cards and putting withdraw limits, works for a while but only if you are prepared to stop playing. If not, then undoing all the safe guards is as easy as putting them there in the first place.
4. Co-dependency, that is, playing with a friend who has the same festering problem. Only that neither of you is strong enough to quit. If you can’t stop yourself, how to do have the strength and will power to stop someone else.
5. Drinking or worse still ,being under the influence of drugs whilst playing the machines is a recipe for disaster. Your now altering your state of mind and common sense will go out the window. Dutch courage takes over and you simply lose the plot, willing to just keep pumping the money in till there is no more, or you can;t get your hands on any more. Now your forced to ask for loans from work or family and friends, a horrible feeling for most people, who will struggle to find the means to pay back the money lent.
6. Depression. The next day gambling hangover and beating yourself up, the stress, anxiety, guilt,lack of good sleep and the inability to function properly because now your constantly thinking what can you do to replace the money you’ve lost. Maybe if I keep playing I might just get lucky, maybe my run is on it’s way. And so the hole your in, increases once again until it swallows you whole.
Governments, club and pub owners won’t help because they profit from the mugs that are willing to keep pouring the money in. The machine makers will do there magic and tantalize the public with more jingles, bells, lights and whistles. There is only one way, don’t play at all, not even a dollar. Avoidance is the best cure, find something else to occupy the time. The longer you keep away the better the chances of getting back on track with everything. It’s never too late to start. God Bless.
One of my family committed suicide 12 years ago because of pokies addiction. Suicide or attempted suicide is not uncommon because of this addiction. It is a suffering that will never pass. As a consequence of this I have come to hate the immoral two-faced hypocracy of state governments when it comes to the pokies.
The major problem with pokies in Australia is the huge life changing payout rates that they offer. In Europe we may have one poker machine in the pub and thats it. Jackpots are restricted to around £100. It’s more fun to play and is less addictive as the chance of winning big is not present. Plus high paying machines are restricted to casinos only.
Many hotels / clubs have multiple machines and whole areas which seem excessive but the you have to look at why they do. Many pubs would not exist / go bust without the revenue from these pokies.
They should remove the high paying machines and place in casinos only but more importantly remove the huge jackpots possible as then they will be less attractive. The government vouch to combat it but in reality they make huge revenue from them also so are they really wanting to help?