As the debate over pokie reform continues to heat up, clubs from across Australia are getting fiercer in their quest to convince the public that the initiative is a bad idea. Industry groups, including casinos, operators and clubs have come together to launch a $40 million campaign to fight the implementation of pokie reform.
After the launch of an expensive television campaign, Crown Casino and Hotels Australia decided to join the group of anti-pokie reform activists. Together, they will launch a new political campaign that will target Labour MPs in hopes of changing their minds about implementing pokie reform by next year.
So far, the group has handed out anti-pokie reform materials to a wide range of seats across the country: 18 in New South Wales while all of the Queensland seats have been covered. It seems that anti-reform activists are ramping up their efforts, going straight to the source by appealing directly to politicians. The group has yet to announce how exactly the $40 million will be spent as part of the new campaign.
It is believe that more advertisements and media campaigns will be launched, in hopes of gaining support from the general public.