Problem gamblers losing more than ever

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie has commented on the release of the latest Australian Gambling Statistics …

“The release of the latest Australian Gambling Statistics is an alarming reminder of the need for gambling reform,” Mr Wilkie said.

“The figures show that $22.7bn is being lost nationally on gambling – an increase of 7.7% – and half of this ($11.6bn) is lost on poker machines. We know that 40% of money lost on poker machines comes from problem gamblers so that’s nearly $5bn being lost by problem gamblers in this past year alone.”

“In Tasmania, $310m is being lost on gambling with $114m of this on poker machines.

“States and territories might claim that current harm minimisation measures are working. But that’s obviously nonsense because people are still losing billions and billions of dollars.

“The Federal Government has it within its power to start fixing this as soon as Parliament resumes. It can legislate immediately to introduce effective harm minimisation measures, such as $1 maximum bets and mandatory pre-commitment on poker machines, and more effective restrictions on gambling advertising on television.

“It’s easy to look at the release of these figures today as just statistics but let’s not forget that every dollar of ‘gambling expenditure’ comes from a real person and much of this from problem gamblers. “
“I remain committed to acting in the new Parliament with Senator Nick Xenophon to try and bring about meaningful gambling reform.”
Andrew Wilkie, Independent MP for Denison