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| Victoria failing on problem gambling in $2.5bn pokies industry, experts warn | Victoria failing on problem gambling in $2.5bn pokies industry, experts warn |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| It may be 11am on a Monday, but the Epping Plaza Hotel, a family-dominated suburb about 22km north of Melbourne’s CBD, is bustling. | It may be 11am on a Monday, but the Epping Plaza Hotel, a family-dominated suburb about 22km north of Melbourne’s CBD, is bustling. |
| The club’s bar and restaurant area is quiet, but there is no shortage of people in the pokies section, where 100 electronic gaming machines noisily sit. | The club’s bar and restaurant area is quiet, but there is no shortage of people in the pokies section, where 100 electronic gaming machines noisily sit. |
| There, the patrons, most beyond retirement age, are slipping coins into slots, focused on the flashing, whirring lines in front of them and carrying around cups filled with coins. | There, the patrons, most beyond retirement age, are slipping coins into slots, focused on the flashing, whirring lines in front of them and carrying around cups filled with coins. |
| The odds aren’t good. Punters lost more than $21.1m at the Epping Plaza Hotel in the last financial year, data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has revealed, with the club collecting more losses from gamblers than any other in the state. | The odds aren’t good. Punters lost more than $21.1m at the Epping Plaza Hotel in the last financial year, data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has revealed, with the club collecting more losses from gamblers than any other in the state. |
| A man perched before one of the slots shows me how gamblers can ignore the buttons that allow players to preset loss and time limits on their machines. The buttons were introduced on all machines across the state in December, but they are not compulsory to use and can be overridden once pressed, as the man, in his 50s, demonstrates. | A man perched before one of the slots shows me how gamblers can ignore the buttons that allow players to preset loss and time limits on their machines. The buttons were introduced on all machines across the state in December, but they are not compulsory to use and can be overridden once pressed, as the man, in his 50s, demonstrates. |
| Before he can give his name and barely 10 minutes into the visit, the hotel manager walks over, tipped off by a staff member that a journalist is talking to people. There would be no more interviews, he said, refusing to answer any questions. | Before he can give his name and barely 10 minutes into the visit, the hotel manager walks over, tipped off by a staff member that a journalist is talking to people. There would be no more interviews, he said, refusing to answer any questions. |
| Victorians lost more than $2.57bn on the pokies in the last year, 2.7% greater than the previous financial year, the commission’s data shows, with the bulk of losses in the blue-collar or low socio-economic areas of greater or regional Melbourne. | Victorians lost more than $2.57bn on the pokies in the last year, 2.7% greater than the previous financial year, the commission’s data shows, with the bulk of losses in the blue-collar or low socio-economic areas of greater or regional Melbourne. |
| Map: poker machine expenditure per person by local government area, 2014-15 | Map: poker machine expenditure per person by local government area, 2014-15 |
| More than $19.7m was lost at the Keysborough Hotel, 27 km south-east of Melbourne and in the greater Dandenong region (unemployment 11.2%), while the Whittlesea Bowls Club and the Bundoora Taverner, which like the Epping Plaza Hotel are in the Whittlesea council area (unemployment 8.05%), were third and fourth on the losses list respectively – punters relinquished more than $18m to each venue. The Brimbank Council area, (unemployment 9.29%), was the municipality with the greatest losses overall, at more than $139m. | More than $19.7m was lost at the Keysborough Hotel, 27 km south-east of Melbourne and in the greater Dandenong region (unemployment 11.2%), while the Whittlesea Bowls Club and the Bundoora Taverner, which like the Epping Plaza Hotel are in the Whittlesea council area (unemployment 8.05%), were third and fourth on the losses list respectively – punters relinquished more than $18m to each venue. The Brimbank Council area, (unemployment 9.29%), was the municipality with the greatest losses overall, at more than $139m. |
| The Victorian government receives more than $1bn of the $3.5bn collected in poker machine taxes by state and territory governments around the country each year (Western Australia does not have pokies outside its casino). | The Victorian government receives more than $1bn of the $3.5bn collected in poker machine taxes by state and territory governments around the country each year (Western Australia does not have pokies outside its casino). |
| It has been criticised by academics and public health experts for its lacklustre measures to address problem gambling. In a move which had bipartisan support, the previous state government struck a deal with Crown to extend the casino’s licence to 2050, and grant it up to $200m compensation from taxpayers for any future problem-gambling measures that affected its bottom line. | |
| Last week, the government announced the trial of a voluntary pre-commitment scheme, where people can sign-up for a swipe card that allows them to set their own limits and receive a warning message once their time or money has reached its pre-determined limit. The system will link all gaming machines across the state so that people can record their spending regardless of location. | Last week, the government announced the trial of a voluntary pre-commitment scheme, where people can sign-up for a swipe card that allows them to set their own limits and receive a warning message once their time or money has reached its pre-determined limit. The system will link all gaming machines across the state so that people can record their spending regardless of location. |
| But experts widely criticised the scheme, saying there was nothing to stop people from ignoring their own limits. | But experts widely criticised the scheme, saying there was nothing to stop people from ignoring their own limits. |
| Victoria’s minister for consumer affairs, gaming and liquor regulation, Jane Garrett, told Guardian Australia the scheme was “just one of the tools people could use to help them stay in control of their gambling”. | |
| “The government shares the community’s concerns around the impact of gambling and electronic gaming machines,” she said. “We are committed to reducing gambling related harm in the community.” | |
| Dr Charles Livingstone, a gambling regulation researcher from Monash University’s department of health and social science, said 40% of money flowing through Victoria’s machines came from people with a serious gambling problem, while 20% came from those with a moderate, but still significant, gambling problem. | Dr Charles Livingstone, a gambling regulation researcher from Monash University’s department of health and social science, said 40% of money flowing through Victoria’s machines came from people with a serious gambling problem, while 20% came from those with a moderate, but still significant, gambling problem. |
| The industry had managed to circumvent measures, such as the removal of ATMs from venues in 2012, by allowing cash withdrawals from eftpos machines, Livingstone said. | The industry had managed to circumvent measures, such as the removal of ATMs from venues in 2012, by allowing cash withdrawals from eftpos machines, Livingstone said. |
| “The industry has gotten smarter and focused on the more disadvantaged areas, moving machines to those areas and that has given them a revival in their revenue,” he said. | “The industry has gotten smarter and focused on the more disadvantaged areas, moving machines to those areas and that has given them a revival in their revenue,” he said. |
| “If you are a problem gambler it is almost impossible to avoid machines while going about your everyday business, these clubs are attached to shopping plazas, they’re highly concentrated in disadvantaged areas, they’re ubiquitous.” | “If you are a problem gambler it is almost impossible to avoid machines while going about your everyday business, these clubs are attached to shopping plazas, they’re highly concentrated in disadvantaged areas, they’re ubiquitous.” |
| Australian-style machines were among the most dangerous pokie machines in the world, he said, with countries such as the US increasingly adopting them for their superior revenue-raising through multiline playing and “bells and whistles” which sounded for even the most minor of “wins”. | Australian-style machines were among the most dangerous pokie machines in the world, he said, with countries such as the US increasingly adopting them for their superior revenue-raising through multiline playing and “bells and whistles” which sounded for even the most minor of “wins”. |
| “You might make a one-dollar bet, and only get a pay-off on one line, so maybe 10 cents, but nonetheless the machine will go off as though you’ve won something even though you’ve lost 90 cents,” Livingstone said. | “You might make a one-dollar bet, and only get a pay-off on one line, so maybe 10 cents, but nonetheless the machine will go off as though you’ve won something even though you’ve lost 90 cents,” Livingstone said. |
| It triggered the reward centre of the brain and deceived people into believing they were winning, he said. | It triggered the reward centre of the brain and deceived people into believing they were winning, he said. |
| An estimated 300,000 people across the state are affected by someone else’s gambling, according to a report released in April by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. | An estimated 300,000 people across the state are affected by someone else’s gambling, according to a report released in April by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. |
| Toni Scicluna, heading into the Epping Plaza Hotel to meet friends for lunch on Monday, is one of them. She would not be playing the machines today, she said. | Toni Scicluna, heading into the Epping Plaza Hotel to meet friends for lunch on Monday, is one of them. She would not be playing the machines today, she said. |
| “They’ve ruined a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “I know a lot of people who have had their lives ruined by pokies. One of my family members, who was once wealthy, had nothing left when he passed away. He used to have to ask for money because he spent it all on the machines. | “They’ve ruined a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “I know a lot of people who have had their lives ruined by pokies. One of my family members, who was once wealthy, had nothing left when he passed away. He used to have to ask for money because he spent it all on the machines. |
| “It is the most unsocial habit you can have.” | “It is the most unsocial habit you can have.” |
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