New Research

New research commissioned by UnitingCare Australia was released on April 15. The research looked specifically at areas in Australia where there were high losses on poker machines (up to 1/3 of average income per gambler). You can read the report here.

Update

On 21 January 2012 the Federal Government announced it will trial mandatory pre-commitment rather than introducing legislation for a nationwide system as per Julia Gillard's agreement with Andrew Wilkie. You can read the Prime Minister's press release here.

Andrew Wilkie has withdrawn his support for the Federal Government and now sits as an Independent on the cross bench. You can read his press release here.

Australian Churches will continue with their campaign for reform. Chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, Tim Costello, has said:

" [The] decision to postpone poker machine reform has dealt a harsh blow to some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens... This Government can still deliver solid social policy that will modify the machines, and limit the harm caused by poker machine gambling."  The full press release is available here.

The Stop the Loss Coalition has also announced it will "continue the fight" and launched TV, radio and press ads on 29 February 2012. The Stop the Loss Coalition is a group of community organisations dedicated to preventing poker machine addiction through real and lasting reform of the industry. Founding members include UnitingCare, Anglicare, the Gambling Impact Society, Pokie ACT, GetUp and Catholic Social Services.

Poker Machines

Australians spent $19 billion on gambling in 2009 and 62% of this money was fed into poker machines. There are 200,000 pokies Australia-wide, more than half are in NSW.

In some venues it is possible to load $10,000 into a poker machine at a time. Someone playing at ‘high intensity’ – multiple lines and credits – will lose on average $1,200 an hour.

People playing poker machines face more risks to their health, emotional wellbeing and hip pocket than other gamblers. The more often they play, the greater the risks.

Around 600,000 Australians play poker machines weekly at an cost of $7000-$8000 a year per player – a good bite out of most household incomes.

Problem gamblers account for 40% of spending on poker machines in Australia.

Around 95,000 of these weekly players are ‘problem gamblers’ and a further 95,000 are at risk of becoming a problem gambler. Problem gambling is devastating and its effects can be long-lasting. As well as financial ruin, the harms include suicide, depression, relationship breakdown, lower work productivity, job losses and crime.

For every problem gambler up to 10 more people – family, children, friends, colleagues – suffer.

It is difficult to keep track of spending on pokies and people routinely underestimate what they spend.

In 2010, the Productivity Commission recommended a full pre-commitment system for poker machines in Australia.

Pre-commitment means people set their own limits on their own spending during a calm, sober moment.

Pre-commitment means people can avoid the costs to themselves of problem gambling and we can make in-roads on the $4.7 billion a year cost to the community.

Facts from the Productivity Commission’s 2010 report on Gambling

Facts about gambling: 

• 600,000 Australians (4% of the adult population) play poker machines at least weekly (page 5.1)
• Around 95,000 people in this group of weekly players are ‘problem gamblers’ and a further 95,000 are at risk (page 5.1)
• There could be up to 160,000 Australian adults suffering significant problems from their gambling and up to a further 350,000 who are vulnerable (page 5.1)
• Problem gamblers account for around 40% of total poker machine spending (page 5.36)
• Weekly players spend on average around $8,000 a year, a sizeable share of household incomes, and this is a primary source of harm (page 13)
• Poker machine players routinely underestimate their spending (page 14)
• For each problem gambler, several others are affected – family members, friends, employers and colleagues (page 16)
• The social costs of problem gambling are serious and include suicide, depression, relationship breakdown, lower work productivity, job losses, bankruptcy and crime (page 16)
• The social cost of problem gambling is around $4.7 billion a year (page 16 and page 6.36)

Facts about poker machines:

• Players can lose up to $1,200 an hour on high intensity machines (page 25)
• Poker machines account for around 75–80% of ‘problem gamblers’ (page 13)
• In some venues it is possible to feed $10,000 into machines at a time (page 11.31)
• Random and intermittent payouts and the rapid repetition of games encourage sustained gambling (page 14)
• There are almost 200,000 poker machines in Australia – around half in NSW (page 6)
• Average revenue per machine is around $60,000 a year and average revenue per venue around $2.1 million a year (page 6)

You can download these facts here.

All data from Productivity Commission 2010, Gambling, Report no. 50, Canberra apart from ‘for every problem gambler up to 10 more people... suffer’ which is from Productivity Commission 1999, Australia’s Gambling Industries, Summary Report no. 10, Canberra, p.21