A STATEMENT ON TODAY’S TASMANIAN GAMBLING REPORT

The latest volume of the Third Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania, released today, is a sobering reminder of the need for meaningful poker machine reform.

The fact is that despite the Tasmanian Government’s spin, today’s report points out that the rate of problem and moderate risk gambling has not changed since 2011. In other words current harm minimisation measures do not work. This helps to explain why in Glenorchy, for instance, some $2 million was lost on the pokies just in the month of July.

Moreover the Study reveals that 0.5% of Tasmanians are problem gamblers and alarmingly that figure is more than double (1.1%) in low socio-economic areas.

The Treasurer is reported to have claimed that per capita spending on gambling has declined. But today’s report points out that this is due to Tasmania’s weakened economic climate and the growth of online gambling which isn’t captured in these figures.

The Tasmanian Government should not be spruiking the benefits of current harm minimisation measures because the fact is that both the current State Liberal Government, and previous State Labor-Green government, have refused to implement meaningful measures to combat problem gambling.

If the Government was serious about tackling poker machine problem gambling they would implement measures like $1 maximum bets and mandatory pre-commitment, as recommended by the Productivity Commission in 2010.

They would also not extend the Federal Group monopoly poker machine license when the current agreement expires in 2018.

Let’s face it, while we still have poker machines in Tasmania the rates of problem gambling will be unacceptably high. For the Government to claim that today’s report is all good news for Tasmania is just plain dishonest.
Independent Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie