Crown Casinos has done the responsible thing by offering children a place to play while their parents visit the casino. While it prevents parents from neglecting their children, Senator Nick Xenophon is not convinced that the arcades send the right message to young people. He believes that games in the arcades encourage children to gamble, and would like to see them shut down “This is grossly irresponsible,” says Xenophon.
“It grooms kids to gamble.” The games in question are a claw game that requires players to spend tokens to win toys and a similar game that awards tokens by pushing them off a ledge. Neither game has an element of skill, so players are depending entirely on luck to win. As such, they seem to be mini versions of casino games, and Xenophon believes that this could encourage children to gamble in the future.
According to Robert Leardi, psychologist at Deakin University, there is little proof that shows the correlation between these arcade games and gambling addiction. However, he does not that there is a similar environment. The sounds and music played by the machines are very similar to those employed by pokies, which could trigger a cognitive response as children become the legal gambling age.
“I would suggest that coin operated machines which resemble poker machines should not be provided for the use of children.” Deakin says. The expert also admits that more proof is needed to form a concrete conclusion. Although Xenophon’s reasons are justified, his accusations are still based on speculation.
A study would need to be performed before he could gain enough support to make a case for removing the games from Crown Casinos. However, it is a positive sign that gambling experts are identifying possible causes of problem gambling behaviour.
While treatment and betting limits will help to curb gambling addiction rates, preventative measures will get to the root of the problem and help to ensure that fewer children grow up to be problem gamblers.
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