Removing poker machines from hotels and clubs in Tasmania: Economic considerations

Anglicare Tasmania is seeking to have poker machines removed from hotels and clubs in Tasmania and restricted to licenced casinos, the model currently in place in Western Australia. This in the belief that the social harm (and its quantifiable economic costs to the most vulnerable in Tasmanian society) associated with the widespread and easily accessible poker machines in Tasmania outweighs any economic benefits that may accrue. This report examines the likely economic impacts of such a shift in poker machine location. The three economic scenarios modelled for this report all show increases in Gross State Product and employment with the removal of poker machines from all hotels and clubs