Pokies are ‘a curse on society’

By Tania Martin
THE Shire of Yarra Ranges is calling for tighter controls on gaming machine regulations after its residents lost more than $17.5 million in six months.
Chandler Ward Councillor Graham Warren said that the State Government needed to stop lining its pockets with cash from gaming taxes and fix the problem.
“The reality is that the government needs to wean itself off the tax dollars and get rid of poker machines,” he said.
Cr Warren said Victorians had lost $1.3 billion in the past six months on gaming machines, which was unacceptable.
“They (gaming machines) are just a curse, a blight on society and its not hard looking at these figures to see what they are doing to the local economy – they are ripping communities apart,” he said.
Evelyn Liberal MP Christine Fyffe has also called for the government to introduce stronger gambling controls.
Ms Fyffe said the $17.5 million that residents lost in the Yarra Ranges represented a revenue increase of $600,000 for the State Government.
“Premier Brumby needs to start acting in the public interest and put people ahead of profit,” she said.
Ms Fyffe is calling for the government to reduce the availability of ATMs at gaming venues.
“The speed with which patrons can withdraw money from an ATM and then deposit it into a poker machine is truly frightening,” she said.
“This gives people little opportunity to comprehend the actual cost of their addiction before their money is lost.
Eastern Region Upper House Representative, Edward O’Donohue, also spoke out against the problem in Parliament last week.
He said the record losses in Yarra Ranges of $17.5 million were highlighting the detrimental effects that pokies are having on local communities.
“The government is continuing to fail to understand the significant consequences of problem gambling and these figures are reflecting that,” he said.
Mr O’Donohue said the State Government needed to be proactive on these issues and stop relying on revenue raised through poker machines.
Cr Warren said although the government had spent $132 million last year on tackling problem gambling, it wasn’t enough.
“It’s not working, the problem is just getting worse,” he said.
“The government needs to introduce regulations on where gaming machines can be installed, and what time they are open.”
Cr Warren said he failed to understand why gaming machines should be available to people at all hours of the day and night.
“Problem gamblers are playing on these machines at 3am and I believe the only way to deal with it is to not have them open at that time,” he said.
Cr Warren said the council was now making a submission to the State Government to call for regulation changes.
“We would like to have some sort of control over how many gaming machines we have in the shire but at this point we have no say,” he said.
The Mail contacted the State Government but was unable to get a response before going to print.