October 11, 2007
 

  
Pokie report exposes failed funding experiment

Figures released today by the Department of Internal Affairs confirm that the pokie machines are a failed experiment in community funding says the Problem Gambling Foundation.

CEO John Stansfield says the DIA paper "Where Do Gaming Machine Profits Go" which tracks the distribution of pokie money for the 2005 calendar year clearly demonstrates that many of the countries poorest communities are getting a poor return for the amount of money spent on pokies.

The report shows that some communities are receiving a return as low as one dollar in twenty for the money spent on pokies in their areas.

Mr Stansfield says this is particularly concerning when the amount of money being distributed has more than doubled between the 1999-2000 year and the 2005 year.

"An unhealthy dependency on an inefficient and harmful form of fundraising is developing," he says.

"Too much of it is being transferred from those who need it to those who don't".

Mr Stansfield points to the large amounts of money being diverted to racing as an example of how poor communities are being used to support the hobbies and interests of the rich.

"The gambling industry has been trying to tell us that money going to racing was to support club infrastructure," he says.

"This report makes it clear that most of the nearly $10 million going to racing is for stakes money.

"Racing clubs already receive TAB money for this.

"If  race horse owners need subsidising to survive then they should be upfront about it and talk to the government, not expect people struggling with gambling problems to pick up the bill.

"I fail to see how offering million dollar stakes to the international plutocracy that own the horses that win these races benefits the community.

"Let's put a human face on this.

"When a wealthy race horse owner steps up to the podium to accept his fat cheque then it's at the expense of some kid abandoned outside a pokie bar, or a family being evicted because they have lost their rent money down at the pokie bar".

Mr Stansfield says that rugby is the largest beneficiary of pokie money and should be made to justify the amount it gets.

"Rugby claims to be a professional business these days. They have all these flash marketing guys running around and pay massive salaries. Yet in 2005 they received $16.5 million in subsidies from our poorest communities.

"Participation rates in rugby are falling so you have to question how well this money is being spent.

"If rugby is our national game then surely we should all be contributing to it equally not expecting the strugglers to keep it afloat."

Mr Stansfield says that his organisation will be urging the government to remove the distribution of gambling funds from the pokie trusts at select committee hearings to be held shortly on the Gambling Amendment Bill.

"Its time for a reputable and credible system for distributing these funds on a fair and transparent basis," he says.

He will also be pressing for greater local control over the number of machines and for safety features to be fitted to pokie machines.

ends

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