Phase Out Pokies

Watch 100 people playing pokies and 95 of them will be expressionless for hours on end. The rest have most likely been drinking a fair bit.

Poker machines have no place outside of casinos. When they exist within sporting clubs and family pubs, the implication is that they are an acceptable form of entertainment. They cause enormous hardships to a small percentage of users who make up the majority of the spending.

Numerous studies have shown that only 1% of pokies players are problem gamblers. The methodology is deeply flawed – see this excellent investigation from The Monthly.

  • Problem gamblers are acknowledged to be unlikely to admit their problems in a phone survey
  • 30% of regular pokies players are problematic or “at risk” which means they are already far from happy
  • Hundreds of people have committed suicide due to pokies addiction
  • Australia is by far the most gambling nation in the world, due to pokies
  • Australia has 76% of the world’s poker machines outside of gambling-only venues.
  • In NSW and Victoria the average pokies player loses an astonishing $3,500 per year

Aside from tax revenue, there is little value in pokies. They are the opposite of social. There is no skill. They are less entertaining than any other form of video or electronic entertainment. And most people are ignorant to the odds of winning.

Remove pokies and those who used to play the machines will find something more social or beneficial to do with their time. What’s better for society – someone spending $200 over 2 hours on pokies, or someone going to a movie for $20?

  1. All use of the word gaming in respect to poker machines will be changed to gambling.
  2. Poker machines (outside of casinos) will be phased out over 5-10 years, or the shortest period of time that aligns with licences ending.
  3. The tax paid by licensees will reduce in line with revenue drops, to offset their losses to some degree.
  4. Government revenue will be replaced via a luxury goods tax

How will pubs and clubs replace the revenue? That’s their problem. Profiting from the misery of others is not something to be proud of.

How will Tatts and Tabcorp and Aristocrat replace the revenue? They won’t. There was always a risk that the cash cow would end one day, it is obvious.

What about shareholders? Their chance to minimise losses is to sell when they first hear of this policy.

Social Gambling Apps

These are insidious and need to be banned immediately. Apps that mimic traditional casino games, and you pay to play, except you can never cash out if you win. When companies that make these are valued in the billions, you know consumers are losing out. More here.