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Sunday, January 13, 2008

I Hate Poker Machines



Headline in a Sydney newspaper this week: "Casino bets on al fresco gambling". Smoking regulations introduced in NSW in July last year mean that gamblers now have to go outside a premises to indulge their habit. But in an unconscionable act of greed, Star City Casino plans to create the largest gambling area for smokers in NSW, by gutting one of their harbour-front restaurants and filling it with 130 poker machines, with the aim to specifically target 18-35 year olds (yep, let's get 'em well and truly hooked while they are young and have disposable incomes).

I hate these things, these poker machines. I mean, really fucking hate them. I think they are a scourge on society and to use the words of Australian lyricist, Tim Freedman (of The Whitlams fame) "I wish they would blow up the pokies". Whilst to many people, they are a simple (dare I say mindless) form of entertainment, to millions of others, they are a highly addictive means by which to give the government more of your hard-earned via gambling taxes. For 10 straight years, gaming taxes have poured in at a rate that has exceeded Treasury's wildest dreams, rising from almost zero 15 years ago to upwards of 15per cent of state taxes today. And, let's not forget that pokie taxes are regressive, because pokie venues are concentrated near the people with the least, who not surprisingly happen to use them the most. Based on the Australian estimated resident adult population at the end of June 2005, the $15,459.7m net takings from gambling represented an expenditure of $996 per head of adult population for 2004-05

Nowadays it is the level of accessibility that exacerbates the issue. Previously, poker machines were only housed in registered clubs, which to many people were not as accessible as the corner pub. There is around 1 poker machine venue for every square kilometre of Sydney.

I have worked closely with professionals to assist people who have been affected by this addiction; those who have lost their spouses, their children, their jobs, their houses, their possessions, their life savings, and in some cases, their lives. For these people, kicking the pokies 'habit' is as difficult as kicking an alcohol or drug addiction. They spend countless hours and countless dollars in chasing the elusive 'win'. Fuck, they have better odds of being struck and killed by lightning (1 in 1.6 million) than winning the top prize on a poker machine 1 in 9,765,650). To even have a 50% chance of winning this prize playing one line a spin, would take 6.7 million button presses and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, why do they do it ? Because they are addicted; the fact that these machines are designed by psychologists to be deliberately addictive is an outrage; how these people can sleep at night is beyond me.

How the decision-making, blood-sucking leeches at Star City Casino can sleep at night is something else again.

As for the fucking government, will they step up and legislate to stop this disease spreading further ?? No fucking way, when gambling taxes accounted for a significant proportion of total state and territory taxes in 2004-05, particularly in South Australia (14.0%), the Northern Territory (15.1%) and Victoria (13.1%).

I have to be content with my heartfelt belief that karma will see this right.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, fukin oath mate.

From someone who used to have a bit of a habit (oh yeah you already know about that), I agree.

For everyone else's info, I never played them until about 1999, when I had a GF who introduced me to them, and I started using them as a leisure activity, drinking and smoking often when I played them and sometimes losing hundreds in only and hour or two (this is nothing, a lady told me how she lost thousands, then used the bank where she works to get more money and lost tens of thousands).

They are a bit like drinking to the addicted, in that you say you'll never do it again, after you lose, because you know it is pointless, but then, you find yourself back in there.

Apparently they use the psychological technique of "intermittent reward", which has the effect of making you think that you are going to win big, even when knowing the odds are against you.

Very fucking bad things, and they are more abused in areas with a poorer demographic, those who can't afford to lose the money, with children, nutrition, and physical and mental health being the first casualties.

Chelsea + Shiloh said...

Theyre not 'a bit like' Tex, they are the bloody same...I knew little of pokies...My father has been in the TAB since 1964 (when totalisers came to Australia)..I was raised not to gamble as my father got rich, no one else did...We have owned TAB's all my life, in many towns,rural & country...

I met a woman who was in Rehab, with gambling addiction, I thought, 'come on get real' and working with her taught me so much..Till that point I knew nothing of that side...

Now I have a nephew , gorgeous boy..great looks, great job, beautiul humour...I helped raise him (for many reasons)

Twice last year, I had a shaking, crying begging young man on my hands...all down to pokies, cept he used someone elses money (someone fucking bad) and kept thinking he would get it back..then he used his partners money, his fathers rego, then came to me...The original man sent people out to hurt him, or if he sold drug for them, that would pay the interest...he was a mess & had told no one...

this happened twice, and if I shut my ears and just watched his body language, it was the same physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawl...

I didnt give him the money, and it was the hardest decision to do..Ididnt have to give him the Gamblers Anonymous number, he had it in his wallet

He hasnt mentioned it, but family talk of seeing him at the club, so it is only a matter of time....

I push every pokie in the ocean...There is a victorian politician whos platform is getting rid of them...i wish him luck..but I think hes got bucklys

Sorry for raving Missus T...but I agree with every word you said...Fuck the pokies!

Bettie K. said...

I so have a confession...I have never gambled because I think I could really like it. And my heart just aches at Abbey's comment...I can't even imagine what it feels like to have something take total control over you. But even more heartbreaking is having to stand by your convictions and not be an enabler.

Fantastic post, Missus and Abbey---your stance is applauded.

Anonymous said...

I have never gambled.

Take that back.I have played those scratch off cards and never win a damn thing off of them.I have no luck so it would be pointless for me to gamble.

SouthLoopScot said...

I used to play Black Jack, but I gave it up when I gave up the drink. Best not to get wrapped up in another addiction.

Unknown said...

I come from WA where we only have pokies at the casino. I remember the first time I went to Adelaide and I was wandering around looking for somewhere to grab dinner.

I walked past a couple of pubs but noticed through the windows that they had pokies. Being the innocent WA'lian that I was I just figured that they were the sort of places that single girls don't go to and walked until I found a delightful little Italian restaurant.

It was a week later when I was dining with friends that it clicked that pokies were everywhere. And that didn't shock me as much as everyone going and putting their $5 in before ordering dinner.

Okay it was 'only' $5 but the ritualized habit was so 'normal' and they didn't understand that they could have bought another drink, or upgraded their meals or just not done it! And being that there was about 8 people, that's $40, multiply that for a couple of times a week, most every week of the year!!

Yes these guys could afford it and it was a habit more than an addiction, but they freely admitted they rarely won, it was just 'what you did'.

Even now that I live over here, I still have a real difficulty getting used to having such a prolific spread of the nasty little things.

As equally as important as the addictions faced by those who play the games, is the addiction by governments and the community group to the revenue.