In Australia, it is up to politicians to decide how gambling is regulated, and many believe that their relationships with gaming operators should not extend any further than that. Recently, anti=pokie lobbyists have called out Victorian politicians that are associated with gaming clubs. According to the Herald Sun, nearly half of all Victorian MPs are associated with pokie clubs in one way or another.
There are 128 MPs in the state and 66 of them are members of a club or sporting group that relies on revenue generated from pokies. Of 40 Legislative Council members, 20 are members of clubs that operate pokies. The same goes for 46 of 88 Legislative Assembly members. “They’re clearly conflicted,” says Paul Bendat, who is well-known for his responsible gambling stance.
“They put their own office ahead of the interests of the people of Victoria.” World Vision CEO Tim Costello agrees: “The refusal by Members of Parliament to act in the community’s interest is because of their capture by the gaming industry”.
Anti-pokie campaigners believe that this causes a conflict of interest, since politicians are supposed to prevent gambling spending from rising. If they are associated with clubs that operate pokies, the relationship could prevent them from doing what is best for the community – if that means reducing pokie spending. Still, Victoria is one of the most progressive states when it comes to poker machine reform.
Over the course of the past year, the state has passed a number of regulations that aim to limit pokie spending. Firstly, the state banned the use of ATMs at pokie clubs, so that players would be unable to spend more than they can afford on poker machines.
Most recently, the use of headphones while playing pokies was banned, to prevent players from becoming too immersed in pokies to gamble responsibly.
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