Andrew Wilkie has made one of his most damning verdicts yet on the pokie lobby by suggesting that Clubs Australia deliberately misled the Aussie Public by saying their business does not rely on problem gamblers.

Wilkie spoke to the National Press Club yesterday and said that no business had the right to continually take money day after day from disadvantaged members of the community – this statement was met by rapturous applause from members of the audience. Wilkie reiterated his commitment to getting PM Gillard to push through pre-commitment by the 2012 Federal budget.

Peter Newel, who is the head of the Clubs Australia foundation, offered a different perspective on the proposed pre-commitment strategy, saying that the upgrade to machines would run into billions of dollars and as a result many small clubs could face shut down, thus causing the workers at such venues to be unemployed.

Jeremy Bath, spokesperson for Clubs Australia, said that Wilkie had continually got his facts wrong, citing Wilkie's claim that 50% of the entire World's pokies were in Australia – Bath claims the figure is closer to 2%. The debate continues…

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.