The boss of hotel giant The Federal Group has dismissed evidence suggesting the majority of Tasmanians are worried about the social impact of poker machines.
A parliamentary inquiry is considering the future of Tasmania’s poker machine industry, along with their economic and social impact.
The State Government promised to break Federal’s exclusive gaming monopoly after 2023, which could open an opportunity for a high-roller casino run by MONA (The Museum of Old and New Art).
Greg Farrell is the managing director of Federal Group, which operates the state’s two casinos.
He told the inquiry that Tasmanians were not worried about gambling, according to research conducted by the company.
“Gaming as an unprompted issue rates extraordinarily low, in fact for many years on an unprompted basis it does not rate at all,” Mr Farrell said.
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Parliamentary committee member, Greens MP Andrea Dawkins cited a Productivity Commission report showing 83 per cent of Tasmanians surveyed wanted pokies out of their area.
“Do you refute those findings? Or do you think the Productivity Commission is not using the right methodology?” she asked Mr Farrell.
Mr Farrell said he was not aware of the finding or the way the research was conducted.
“I certainly don’t get any sense that the majority of people adamantly want to see the removal of gaming machines,” he said.
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