Explosive Pokies expose, Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation, to re-air on ABC1 as pokies hit political agenda

The documentary that shook the Pokies industry, Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation, will re-air on ABC1 on August 1, as pokies reform returns to the political agenda in the new federal parliament.

Following its October broadcast, the film sparked a national conversation about pokies reform, trending #1 on Twitter and triggering law firm Maurice Blackburn to announce their ambitious case, that will seek to prove that poker machines are in breach of Australian law.

The broadcast comes as pokies debate resurfaces, with the Nick Xenophon team, Andrew Wilkie and the Greens vowing to use their influence in the precarious new parliament to push for reform.

Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation is a powerful expose of the ways that poker machines are programmed for addiction. Machine designers from Australia and the US go on the record to reveal exactly which components of the machines trigger addiction and why. World-leading neuroscientists share the science of why poker machines are so uniquely addictive, with many experts calling them “the crack cocaine of gambling”.

The film also explores the powerful alliance between the gambling industry and the government that’s seen the machines proliferation across Australia, largely in the poorest postcodes. Ka-Ching! shows how governments both left and right have become reliant on pokies taxes to fill budget holes, making them the biggest addicts of all.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says, “Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation gives an invaluable insight into how poker machines are designed to be addictive. It’s essential that we shine a light on how these machines operate, and the predatory tactics the industry uses.

“Ka-Ching! is an important reminder of why we urgently need gambling reform in Australia. Especially important is the need to reduce poker machine problem gambling, by implementing effective harm minimisation measures like $1 maximum bets and mandatory pre-commitment.”

While 70% of Australians support pokies reform , attempts to reform the industry have been generally unsuccessful. This paradox was what motivated Ad Man Neil Lawrence, the creative force behind the Kevin07 campaign, to produce his final documentary: Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation.

Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation aired on ABC1 in October 2015, and reached 750,000 viewers. Since then, the film has been screened by local councils and community groups across Australia and internationally. It will air again on ABC1 on Monday 1 August at 11.30pm, and will be available on iView for two weeks.

Background information

In 2013-14, Australians lost $11 billion on poker machines (pokies) in clubs and hotels, with a further estimated $1.5 billion lost in casinos – averaging out to a loss of $7000 per adult per year. But, these losses aren’t evenly distributed. A 2010 study by the Productivity Commission identified some 115,000 “problem gamblers” in Australia, who are estimated to make up 40% of the total losses on the pokies.

Poker machines have occupied a unique space in the political landscape for many years. An extensive 2011 study by the Australian National University found that 70% of Australians supported tighter controls on gambling, and an overwhelming 74% supported the mandatory pre-commitment on betting put forward by Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and the Gillard Government in 2012.

The subsequent failure of the Gillard Government to push through these proposed pokie reforms led to Independent MP Wilkie withdrawing his support for the minority government. Now, with Wilkie back in Parliament, and a more prominent role for gambling reform advocate Nick Xenophon and his new team of senators and MPs, pokies will again be on the political agenda.

Following the broadcast in October 2015, Maurice Blackburn announced that they will lodge a landmark case that draws on revelations from the documentary to show that poker machines are deliberately ‘misleading and deceptive’. The litigation will be lodged in the Federal Court in Victoria in the coming months.

www.kachingfilm.com
Clara Williams Roldan – Looking Glass Pictures