Clubs Australia has been fighting against Andrew Wilke’s gambling reform for the past few months. The organization claims that precommitment technology will not help to curb problem gambling rates, and will deny charities valuable funding. The latter argument has been cited quite often; however, we have barely heard from actual charities on the topic.
That is – until now. Father Chris Riley, founder of the Youth Off The Streets charities, has recently come forward to show his support for Clubs Australia. Citing the fact that his charity has received millions of dollars in pokie revenues over the years, he has adopted Clubs Australia’s stance that poker machine reform will damage various charities across the country.
Other charities still seem to be nervous about speaking out, however, as they are caught between what’s best for themselves and the community at large. According to the CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation, his charity is having a dilemma. Although poker machines provide valuable funding, he does not want to convey that the foundation supports gambling.
Until recently, anti-gambling charities have not been confronted about receiving gambling revenues as funding. They are truly in a difficult situation, as the battle over poker machine reform will not be resolved any time soon.
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