Even though the Gillard government has backed out of its deal with Andrew Wilkie over pokie reform, the general public is still talking about the initiative. Financial portal Switzer has published an interesting new report on the costs of poker machine reform. In addition to debunking myths about the costs of the reform, it also argued that the reform could create jobs across the country.
According to the report, written by Keris Lahiff, the costs of the proposed reform have been exaggerated by gaming companies. They claimed that $5 billion would be lost as a result of the installation of the new technology. However, Lahiff believes that the have padded the numbers. The only way that the losses could be estimated at anywhere near $5 billion is if each machine were to updated manually and separately.
Nowadays, poker machines are programmed to be updated en masse, making it easier for manufacturers to install software updates. If this type of technology can be applied to precommitment technology, losses are estimated at less than $350 million. Lahiff also believes that poker machine reform could create more jobs across the country.
People will be needed to develop, administer and monitor the software, creating thousands of jobs for the public. Since a great deal of problem gambling is rooted in financial distress, the creation of jobs could also curb the rate of gambling addiction in Australia.
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