While sports clubs across the country are fighting against pokie reform, welfare groups remain dedicated to the cause. Despite the loss to sports funding that will occur, social services organizations believe that pokie reform will benefit the country at large. As part of pokie reform, individuals across the country are required to make a pre-commitment to how much they intend to spend while playing pokies.
They can monitor exactly how much they have spent and are discouraged from chasing losses. According to Karyn Walsh of the Queensland Council of Social Services, pokie reform will make gamblers more aware of how much money they are spending on the popular gambling machines. "It enables people to think about the balance of winning and losing and what can they afford,” she says.
Walsh states that many of the people that seek out social services are those that have been affected by gambling addiction. However, the issue is not confined to low-income individuals and families; social service groups see people from all walks of life that have had their lives transformed due to problem gambling.