Clubs in the Australian football league are some of the biggest operators of poker machines in the country. As such, responsible gambling campaigners feel that the AFL should take more responsibility in minimising the potential harm in pokie gambling. That’s why AFL Chief Gillon McLaughlan recently met with pokie reform campaigners Tim Costello and Nick Xenophon.

They met at AFL House to discuss the league’s growing dependence on gambling revenue, and how the AFL could contribute to helping players develop more responsible gambling happens. Costello and Senator Xenophon suggested the idea of poker machines that are ‘less harmful’, which have a number of safe gaming features. The new machines would omit many features that regular pokies use to engage players.

For example, the games would not feature ‘near misses’ or ‘losses disguised as wins’. These are common design elements used to make pokie gameplay more exciting, but responsible gambling campaigners are concerned that they actually result in unsafe spending habits. The AFL seemed responsive to the idea, which is a win for responsible gambling campaigners across the country.

AFL clubs generate millions of dollars in poker machine revenue every year, so the league owners could have a significant impact on the way poker machines are operated in the country. “It was terrific to meet with the AFL. We want to work constructively with them so that clubs can be weaned off their reliance on poker machine revenue,” says Senator Xenophon.

“The AFL has got the ability to play a tremendous leadership role to encourage not just its clubs, but other pokies operators, to make their machines much safer”. McLaughlan has risen to the challenge of making poker machines safer in AFL clubs. It will be interesting to see whether or not the league implements new machines into their venues and if further steps will be taken to minimise the potential harm of pokies.

“The AFL met with Senator Xenophon and Tim Costello, and received a briefing on research regarding poker machines and social harm,” a spokesperson for the AFL says. “The AFL is certainly receptive to strategies to encourage responsible gambling, and open to hearing more on new poker machines designed to encourage responsible use.”

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.