Call for Action on Gambling

Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 12:04

Uniting Care has joined Independent Senator in calling for Federal Government action on Gambling in the the wake of the Productivity Commission Report.

The National Director of Uniting Care Australia, Susan Helyar has welcomed many of the recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s final report on Gambling saying now it’s time for the Federal Government to show decisive leadership to reduce the impact of gambling.

Helyar says the Government can act immediately to reduce poker machine harm by:

Setting the maximum a gambler can lose to $1 per button push and $120 per hour
Limiting opening hours for poker machine venues to 10.00am to midnight nationally
Banning ATM’s in poker machine venues

Independent South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has called on the Federal Government to take control of gambling from the states in response to the PC report.

He says the Commonwealth really has a leadership position to take because the states can't be trusted with gambling because they rake in $4 billion per year on gambling taxes.

Sen. Xenaphon says it is clear that the Commonwealth has the constitutional power to take this the control of gambling because they don’t have the vested interest and they are not compromised by the revenue stream that the states have on gambling.

The report, which found that 15 per cent of regular poker machine players are problem gamblers and that they contribute about 40 per cent of spending on poker machines, rejected the liberalisation of on-line gambling.

Uniting Care says the other crucial measure is the implementation of the recommendation to ‘deliver full pre-commitment to all venues’ by 2016, with at least partial systems in place by 2013.

It says full pre-commitment refers to a system that must be used by all gamblers. The system is incorporated into all gambling activities and devices and is centrally monitored and seamless in operation for gamblers.

Comments

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Call for Action on Gambling

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 24 June 2010.

If the government does not have the tax & some control, it opens the door for the seedy side of the gambling racket. Governments should keep lifting taxes on gambling & make the large clubs pay a fair share of tax instead of avoiding the tax.

Call for Action on Gambling

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 25 June 2010.

I agree with the posted comment. The problem is not that State Governments are taxing gambling. Gambling should be taxed, like cigarettes and alcohol. It is not the money that makes State Governments unwilling to make change, but the lobbying power of the hotels, clubs and the casino operators, some of whom are also in control of media.