Despite is main goal of improving the local community by decreasing problem gambling rates, pokie reform has been quite unpopular. Many poker machine providers and their affiliates are not on board with the idea, due to concern that they will lose out on valuable income as a result of players limiting their wagers.
Many groups who adopt this stance do not want to seem selfish, so they present their main concern as the local community. Poker machines provide many local community groups with valuable funding, and pokie providers push this point in order to garner support for their anti-reform stance.
The Australian Hotels Association, which operates thousands of pokies across the country, is one such group – but its plans to appeal to the public in this way have been thwarted. Shortly after pokie reform legislation was passed, the AHA started a campaign that advertised its contributions to the local community. In pamphlets and flyers, the group listed a number of schools and organizations that have benefitted from pokies funds.
However, Schools Minister Peter Garrett has confirmed that several of the names listed have never received donations from pokies. "It was a real ugly bit of campaigning on their part," Garrett says. "Quite deceptive, quite misleading and quite disrespectful of local community groups. The AHA has refused to comment on the campaign.
However, the group has shown signs of defeat, as it has cancelled its plans to launch a new anti-reform campaign. This particular campaign would have targeted local politicians, encouraging them to request additional amendments for the pokie reform legislation. In the end, pokie reform will move forward as planned – without interference from pokie providers.
It seems as though these groups will have to find other sources of income that are not derived from problem gambling, while community groups must look for additional sources of funding.
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