Anglicare supports call by Alliance for Gambling Reform
November 13, 2024
Anglicare Tasmania has signed an open letter that calls on the Tasmanian Premier to “stay the course” on poker machine reform.
The letter has been written by Tim Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform and co-signed by TasCOSS, Holyoake and former Tasmanian Gaming Commission Chair Peter Hoult, among others.
It urges the Premier to remain committed to introducing a mandatory poker machine card with pre-set loss limits. The letter says:
“Tasmania’s progress on introducing a statewide card-based system for poker machines is nation-leading. It is recognised as a measure that will save lives.”
Anglicare’s Social Action and Research Centre coordinator, economist Mary Bennett, spoke at a media launch today in support of the reform:
We know that poker machines deliver the most harm in Tasmania, and that harm is increasing.
In 2022 three out of four of our Gamblers Help clients named poker machines as their main form of gambling. In 2024 that number has risen to four out of five.
The current approach is not working – but there is a solution. A mandatory card with pre-set loss limits would reduce harm by preventing it before it occurs. And our frontline services tell us that their clients are really counting on its implementation.
Sign a petition
A community petition is also gathering signatures in support of the poker machine card system. It’s another way for Tasmanians to express their support for the reform’s full implementation, as promised by the Liberal Government.
More information:
Mary Bennett has written two papers about poker machine gambling in Tasmania:
The poker machine card. Simple As.
Anglicare Tasmania runs the Gamblers Help service in Tasmania.
PHOTO: Mary Bennett speaks at a media launch held in Hobart. Standing behind her (from left) are Tim Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform, former chair of the Tasmanian Gaming Commission Peter Hoult, Holyoake CEO Sarah Charlton and Acting Executive Director of TasCOSS Lucinda Szczypior.
