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MEDIA RELEASE
NICK XENOPHON M.L.C. INDEPENDENT NO POKIES
MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
8 July 2004
'SHOCKING' SA RESULT SHOWS THAT WE LEAD THE NATION IN THE RATE IN INCREASE OF GAMBLING LOSSES
RELEASE OF NATIONAL GAMBLING STATS PROMPTS CALL FOR NATIONAL
The
release of national gambling loss statistics from the Tasmanian Gaming
Commission early today has prompted calls from No Pokies MLC
The
Commission’s compilation of statistics for the 2002/2003 year revealed: ·
Turnover on gambling has increased to $128.3
billion for
the 2002/03 year with losses at $15.36 billion. ·
Pokies losses made up over $9
billion
or almost 60% of the losses – with the slow down in the rate of losses being
largely due to the Victorian Government’s decision to ban smoking in pokies
venues from ·
Mr.
Xenophon pointed to the Productivity Commission’s Report on Australia’s
Gambling Industries released in December 1999 which showed there were
290,000 problem gamblers (65%-80% due to poker machines) with each problem
gambler affecting the lives of seven others. “The South Australian Figures show that the rhetoric of the former Liberal Government and current Labor Government amounts to little more than a bunch of weasel words rather than substantial policies to impact on gambling addiction”.
“The Productivity Commission’s Report of four and
a half years ago revealed that
Mr.
Xenophon said that a National Gambling Summit was required “as a matter of urgency because both the States and the Commonwealth
had proved to be incapable of tackling the massive level of gambling losses and
associated harm head-on”
“A National Summit could well force the States and
the Commonwealth to confront the harm caused by the ‘jackpot mentality’ of
the States which are currently collecting over $3.95 billion from racing and
‘gaming’ alone a year in gambling taxes, and the Commonwealth’s ‘hands
off’ approach”. “The Commonwealth Government has got a key role to
play here both in terms of its banking powers (it has the power to ban ATMs from
pokies venues – a key driver in levels of gambling addiction) as well as
pushing for changes to the formula for grants to the States to have some real
incentive for the States to wean themselves off gambling taxes”.
Written
and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075
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