Gillard's pokies bill is worse than doing nothing

It reads like it was written by the poker machine industry.

The Federal Government has finally released its National Gambling Reform bill and it's worse than nothing. In truth, it's an insult to millions of Australians, their families and friends, struggling with the devastating impact of Australia’s poker machines - which are amongst the most dangerous in the world, allowing players to lose up to $10,000 an hour. [1]

The Government thinks they can get away with this, and the poker machine industry thinks they've won. They think that we will never notice the difference between a good law and a smokescreen. They're wrong, and we need to tell them.

We've put together a simple, side-by-side comparison of the Government's new bill vs. real reform. Can you take a minute to read it and let your MP know that this smokescreen legislation is worse than nothing?

http://www.getup.org.au/the-1-120-solution

The cashed-up clubs and hotels industry think they've won this fight and have spent many millions of dollars convincing politicians to abandon real reform - but at what cost to society?

Here’s what it’s costing us:
- 40% of all losses on poker machines come from problem gamblers.[2]
- Poker machines are the second highest cause of crime in the community after the illicit drug trade.[3]
- Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital reports that one in five suicide attempts are due to gambling addiction.[4]
- The industry likes to pretend its enormous profits are going back to the community - but they actually receive more in tax breaks than the minuscule fraction (on average, less than 2.6%) they give back to the community.[5]

With facts like these, it's no wonder that poker machines have been called the "crack cocaine" of the gambling industry.[6]

Click here to read a comparison of this bill vs. real reform and let your local MP know that it’s not too late to reject bad policy.

While the focus in Canberra has been more about a personality war than sound policy behind the pokies reform debate, it's been easy for MPs to lose sight of what gambling reform needs to accomplish.

Together, we are still fighting for meaningful reform for one reason only: to minimise harm to the most vulnerable members of our society.

Tell your MP that the bill doesn't go far enough: http://www.getup.org.au/the-1-120-solution

After abandoning her written commitment to Independent MP Andrew Wilkie to bring about serious poker machine reform, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has instead introduced no more than a smokescreen. In its current form, the bill does more harm than good because it pretends to offer player protections that in reality don't exist. It promotes a false solution that research has proven doesn't work and offers no concrete protections. Essentially, it's a delay tactic that is wasting time and resources that should be used to institute real reform, backed by decades of research.

Will you join us in calling on all Federal politicians to reject this smokescreen of a bill and demand real reform?

http://www.getup.org.au/the-1-120-solution

Let's finally stop the loss and take care of our communities.

Thanks for speaking up,
Erin for the GetUp team.

Sources:
[1]Gambling Report Volume I (Report NO 50), Australian Productivity Commission, 26 February 2010.
[2]ibid
[3]'The Relationship between Crime and Gaming Expenditure in Victoria.' Victorian Department of Justice. p.71
[4]Kate Hagan, 'Gambling linked to one in five suicidal patients', The Age. 21 April, 2010.
[5]Nick O'Malley, 'Clubs hitting the jackpot and keeping most of the booty', Sydney Morning Herald. 16 April, 2010.
[6]Tim Costello, 'The game's up - pokies reform not so taxing for footy', Sydney Morning Herald. 27 September, 2011.