Poker machines are the biggest single source of losses for Australians, whose gambling losses are almost twice as much as that of people in the US. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Australians lose 50% more than Americans

As common as public toilets, ATMs, and post office boxes are in the Australian suburbs, poker machines are even more common. Worse, poker machines are the biggest single source of losses for Australians, whose gambling losses are almost twice as much as that of people in the US. According to a report, Australians lose an average of AU$1,635 (US$1,100), mostly through slots and betting, compared to AU$809 (US$544) for Americans.

goes on to request a mandatory pre-commitment loss limit for online gambling and poker machines

The Grattan Institute report, titled A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm, asserts a double-fisted solution to limit harm from gambling. The report first insists on a ban of gambling ads, then goes on to request a mandatory pre-commitment loss limit for online gambling and poker machines. The report further requests the number of available poker machines in each state be reduced over a period of a few years.

Grattan Institute Chief Executive Aruna Sathanapally said: “[Australia has let the] gambling industry run wild, and gamblers, their families, and the broader community are paying the price. Gambling products are designed to be addictive, and the consequences can be catastrophic: job loss, bankruptcy, relationship breakdown, family violence, even suicide. It’s time our politicians stood up to the powerful gambling lobby and reined the industry in.”

Government shied away from blanket ban

The government is prepared to take a number of different steps to protect Australians, including cutting down the number of gambling ads. But despite the recommendations of the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, the government has fallen back on whether to introduce a blanket ban on gambling ads and inducements.

Instead, the proposal that was sent to the cabinet was for a partial ban that would eliminate gambling ads online, during children’s television shows and live sports broadcasts, including an hour before and after, and restricted to two per hour otherwise. And those television restrictions wouldn’t happen for two years because of network contracts.

Sathanapally does not believe a partial ban will be enough

But Sathanapally does not believe a partial ban will be enough. She wants to place a loss limit to “act as a seatbelt against gambling harms.” Sathanapally said: “It would stop people suffering catastrophic losses—because no one should lose their house, or their life, on the pokies.”

Location predicts higher rate of losses

The Grattan researchers found that the location of slot machines poses perhaps the greatest significant risk factor for Australians. While similar countries place high-impact, high-loss slots mostly in casinos, the machines in Australia “are pockmarked across our suburbs and towns, increasing the risk of harm.”

The report found: “About 93% of Australia’s 185,000 pokies (AKA slot machines) are outside casinos. Suburban pokies are more common than ATMs, post boxes, or public toilets.”

The problem gets worse for disadvantaged community, where it turns out there are as many slot machines as “the rest of Australia combined.” The report states: “People living in the poorest fifth of communities in NSW lose an average of AU$1,524 (US$1,025) a year on pokies, compared with AU$922 (US$620) for people living in the most well-off fifth.”