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Call us 1800 243 232
Anglicare has more than 20 years’ experience delivering services to help people harmed by gambling.
We have a long history of research and advocacy about gambling harm. We have provided evidence to State and Federal policy-makers, and to the gambling industry, about measures to prevent and reduce gambling harm.
It is our view that good gambling policy prioritises public health.
For this reason, special attention must be paid to poker machines, due to the significant evidence of the harms associated with this product.
Gambling harm is a public health issue because it impacts the health, finances, relationships and security of Tasmanians and their families. Harms include relationship and family breakdown, alcohol and drug use, anxiety, depression, poor health outcomes, financial hardship, and crime. Family members, friends, employers and colleagues are also affected.
Anglicare recommends the following public health measures to help prevent and reduce the gambling harm caused by poker machines.
Some simple changes would help Tasmanians keep more of their money.
These include:
Poker machines were introduced into Tasmania’s casinos in 1986 and into pubs and clubs in 1997, without community consultation.
The Tasmanian Government plans to introduce legislation to license poker machines to individual pubs and clubs, as well as the two casinos, through to 2043.
Poker machines are computers designed by psychologists and mathematicians to ensure that, over time, the machine always comes out on top.
Tasmanian Government studies state 2,000 Tasmanians are seriously harmed by gambling. They gamble 3 or 4 times a week resulting in average yearly losses of $14,000.
A further 21,000 Tasmanians gamble weekly and lose $3,000 or more each year.
The vast majority of Tasmanians harmed by gambling are using poker machines. Polling shows that 1 in 3 Tasmanians personally know someone who has a serious problem gambling on poker machines.
Although online gambling and sports betting is growing, the total money spent remains significantly lower than what is spent on poker machines. While there are high-profile cases of young men experiencing harm from sports betting, 70% of people seeking help for gambling say they are there because of poker machines.
Good public policy and consumer protection is important for all forms of gambling. Regulation of online gambling happens at a Federal level. Regulation and licensing of poker machines happens at a State level.
Most states in the world do not permit poker machines in their communities.
Western Australia – an interesting case study
In Western Australia, poker machines are only permitted in their casino.
While gambling in Western Australia and Tasmania is at a similar level (each between $600 and $700 lost per person to table games, pokies, Keno, lotteries and lotto), 70% of Tasmanian losses are to poker machines. Regular use of poker machines exposes people to a higher risk of addiction.
In contrast, 70% of the losses in Western Australia are on forms of gambling that cause few problems such as lotto and Keno.
Tasmania has a faster poker machine spin speed of 3.5 seconds compared to Western Australia’s 5 seconds. This makes people lose money faster.
Western Australians spend less of their household disposable income on gambling than Tasmanians.
Australia ranks sixth in the total number of poker machines by country, behind Japan, USA, Italy, Germany and Spain, all of which have much bigger populations. On a per capita loss basis, Australia is only behind casino resort destinations such as Monaco and Macao.
Eight American states do not permit poker machines, while some allow them only in casinos. Two of Canada’s 13 provinces have banned poker machines altogether. In the UK, poker machines in pubs and clubs have a maximum bet limit of less than AUD$2 (Tasmania allows $5) and maximum payout of less than AUD$200 (Tasmania allows up to $60,000). In New Zealand the maximum bet limit is AUD$2.35 and maximum payout AUD$939.
The UK also limits the number of poker machines in regional casinos to be “not more than 5 times the number of gaming tables used in the casino”. If Tasmania followed this approach there would be 120 machines in Wrest Point instead of 650, and a maximum of 80 in Launceston’s Country Club Casino instead of 535.
Compared to other places where poker machines are permitted in community venues, Tasmania has higher bet limits and higher maximum payouts. This makes Tasmanian poker machines more “volatile”, meaning there is a higher degree of risk and greater unpredictability. Volatility in machines is linked to higher likelihood of addiction.
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