For years, so-called “VIP lounges” in Australian clubs and pubs have been proliferating, even though they have hardly ever been associated with luxury or any special customer services. In fact, the aforementioned lounges have been used as a well-known code for the offering of so-called pokies, especially considering the fact that advertising the presence of poker machines is not allowed in the country.
Various scientists, lawmakers and campaigners have been insisting on the implementation of further restrictions in terms of poker machines, saying that the very existence of VIP lounges in clubs and pubs across the country proved that Australia has a gambling problem, with the state of New South Wales (NSW) often described as the destination with the most serious gambling problems in the nation. Of course, wagering on horse races and poker machines have often been perfectly safe for many people, being just another part of their normal social lives, but sometimes they come with terrible losses.
According to reports, online betting on various sports events has become extremely popular in Australia, with the combination of easily accessible betting apps and strong gambling advertising on TV and other channels helping the expansion of online gambling companies’ presence. Brick-and-mortar casinos, on one hand, continue to attract a significant number of gamblers on a daily basis, as well as domestic and international criminals looking for a way to wash their money, while on the other hand, technology development has turned literally every smartphone into a gambling device.
Reportedly, the 190,000 poker machines (also known as “pokies”) available in thousands of licensed clubs and pubs across Australia, have been associated with massive economic and social harm, as they cost about AU$15 billion a year in direct losses to local people. Apart from that, they have cost many more billions to the country as a result of the penetration of money laundering by domestic and international criminals and criminal organisations.
The state of NSW currently accounts for approximately AU$8 billion in personal losses originating from the use of about 86,000 poker machines available in local clubs and pubs, which total about AU$95 billion on an annual basis.
Australians Have the Highest Gambling Losses Per Capita Worldwide
A few months ago, Michael Barnes, Crime Commissioner of New South Wales, commented on the situation, saying that controversial pokies provided criminals with one of the last remaining “safe havens” where they have been able to wash illegally acquired money.
According to the Gambling Research Centre of the Federal Government, Australians currently have the highest per-capita gambling losses on a global scale. The GRC revealed that approximately 40% of the 26 million people in the country gamble every week, while other research suggested that about 1.6 million Australian residents were at risk of becoming gambling addicts or being affected by gambling-related harm.
Research has shown that many NSW residents lose their money on poker machines situated in some of the Sydney sporting clubs. The largest one, Bankstown Sports Club, currently has 745 machines.
Apart from the large availability of poker machines, playing the pokies can be extremely addictive and for some people is often an all-day affair. The flashing signs and loud noises keep customers hooked for hours and hours, while quickly losing their money by simply pressing a button.
All of this has raised a strong wave of criticism for local clubs and pubs offering so-called pokies. The Labour Party, which has been back in the state Government for more than a decade, has reiterated a commitment to clean up the gambling industry from dangerous poker machines in order to protect local people from the risks and harm associated with them. The Party has been willing to implement a cashless payment method for pokies. First, however, it will run a trial to test the cashless gaming option on just 500 machines, as of July 1st, 2023. NSW lawmakers have also considered lowering the load-up limit per machine and have pledged to put a cap on the number of pokies in the state.
As part of the measures aimed at tackling the negative effects of detrimental poker machines, New South Wales clubs and pubs are required to take down all “VIP lounge” signs by September 1st.
- Author
Daniel Williams
