The Guardian 5 November, 2008
Australia’s growing gambling addiction
Peter Mac
Over the last thirty years Australia’s gambling industry turnover has grown fourfold. Gambling expenditure now exceeds $95 billion per annum. Average household expenditure on gambling was less than one percent but now exceeds three percent. Australia’s per capita expenditure is now greater than that of the US, Hong Kong or New Zealand. The total nearly equals what we spend on alcohol, and exceeds what we spend on energy or domestic appliances.
Problem gamblers, who constitute approximately fifteen percent of the total, lose an average $12,000 per annum.
The power and influence of the industry has grown in proportion to its profits. One new report commented: "…all Australian governments have played a major role in this phenomenal growth, first in the legislation, design and provision of gambling activities, and second the establishment of the differing revenue extraction devices."
The extent of the industry’s influence was recently demonstrated in new government regulations to control the operating hours of licensed premises in NSW. The stricter regulations, to apply from December 1, include 2am lockouts of newly-arrived patrons, and are intended to reduce the number of violent incidents in hotels and clubs late at night.
Four clubs were listed as second, 14th, 18th, and 40th in the recently-released list of the state’s fifty most violent licensed premises. Twenty-two violent assaults took place within Sydney’s Star City Casino during the last financial year, and it was ranked equal thirtieth with five other violent venues. However, the new regulations don’t apply to members of the state’s registered clubs, or to the Casino!
A spokesperson for the Premier explained, apparently seriously, that the Casino had been exempted because it had "performed well, given its large patronage"! In fact, violence is such a problem that a special police casino investigation unit has had to be set up within the premises.
Star City wants to expand its premises by building ten new bars, outdoor poker machines areas (which would effectively overcome new anti-smoking laws), five hundred new parking spaces and a seventeen-storey hotel.
Violent behaviour, traffic problems, accidents and anti-social behaviour outside the premises are already a major problem. Local resident groups and Sydney Council have both objected to the proposal.
But the Casino management didn’t bother to send a representative to a local community meeting on October 15, stating with lofty arrogance that "We believe the best place to discuss the project is at Star City. We therefore set up a display room where the project could be seen first hand and invited council officials to come down, review the project and discuss any issues."
Hotels can also install poker machines, and the Australian Hotels Association is now recommending, believe it or not, that gambling should be taught in schools! A representative of the Association recently claimed that the proposal was not concerned with teaching students how to gamble, but with educating them on the risks involved and the probability of winning. He noted that many teachers already use gambling to teach probability in maths classes, so lessons on gaming would not be a major change.
A recent ABC Catalyst program analysed how poker machines entice gamblers into a very comfortable and relaxing mini-environment, in which the process of playing the machines suspends rational assessment of one’s own behaviour. This very carefully contrived process involves providing frequent but very small rewards to the gambler, with stimulating sounds during payouts (so that’s what the gambler remembers), and even on-the-spot refreshments to keep him or her in place.
The avaricious behaviour of the gaming industry has recently been demonstrated by the case of Harry Kakavas, a Queensland Gold Coast property developer and major problem gambler who lost $36.7 million in a fourteen-month baccarat gambling spree at Melbourne’s Crown City Casino. Kakavas had been officially banned from gambling at any Australian casino, but he claims to have taped conversations in which Crown City representatives attempted to entice him back, offering him $7.5 million in credit.
The current establishment of major political parties have a very close relationship with the industry. State taxation revenues from gambling are about $3,850 million, or 10 percent of the total.
However, the Greens parties, some independent politicians and a great many concerned community organisations are opposed to the size and growth of the gaming industry. The strength of those forces, and their ability to unite their resources in opposition to the industry, will determine whether the Australian people can resist the growing onslaught of this huge and voracious social parasite.