The Executive Director of the Australian charity Lifeline Central West Alex Ferguson called for a closer look to be paid on online gambling operations in case that problem gambling in the country is to be addressed.
Mr. Ferguson shared his concern with the attempt made by The Australian Greens in the state of New South Wales (NSW) to bring some changes in the regulation of poker machines, describing their policy as an attack to the most easily achievable goal. Lifeline’s Executive Director further warned that measures that are supposed to influence the sector would not address the entire industry.
Justin Field, an Australian Greens’ spokesman for Gambling Harm, said that in his opinion the representation of Mr. Ferguson was not accurate enough and blamed poker machines for being causing harm to society. He insisted that pokies are currently the largest form of gambling in the country and said that according to recent survey, three out of four people who are addicted to gambling, are actually addicted to poker machines.
According to Mr. Ferguson, some players would simply look for other options to place bets in case that certain restrictions are placed on poker machines’ regulation. And this, he said, would not be a good thing as poker machines are currently located in licensed premises in which more efficient monitoring could be carried out. In addition, Mr. Ferguson explained that the State Government is also a shareholder in such premises, which provides competent with authorities with the chance to get thorough and exact data about the number of people who gamble.
Pokies Not the Only Forms of Gambling Causing Addictions
Lifeline’s Executive Director backed pokies, which have lately been put under fire due to a nation-wide campaign, saying that other gambling options in the country are given much more publicity. As Mr. Ferguson shared, poker machines were given no advertising, while online gambling operators have been notorious for the aggressive advertising campaigns on TV, radio and social media channels.
It also became clear that Mr. Ferguson is concerned with the fact that individuals who do not have the legal age of 18 to gamble are actually able to access such services. According to data revealed by Lifeline, approximately 2% of all Australian players could be described as problem gamblers who suffered an addiction. As revealed by him, the classic gambler normally used two to three forms of gambling, which made the State Government’s attempt to put a restriction on only one form of gambling a solution which was simply not good enough.
Back in November 2017, the Australian Government released a report illustrating the local residents’ gambling habits. According to the survey conducted by the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC), about 39% of the country’s adult population are regular gamblers. In addition, the study also highlighted several major aspects of problem gambling in the country, revealing that approximately 7.9% of the Australian citizens over the age of 18 experienced gambling-related problems in 2015. The number is considered to have risen since then.
- Author
Daniel Williams
