States hooked on gambling cash: expert

A gambling counsellor has compared the dependency of state governments on gambling
revenue to a poker machine addiction.
The Productivity Commission has recommended bet limits on poker machines and a
restriction on the amount of cash a player can put into a note acceptor.
It wants pokies limited to $1 bets with a $20 restriction on the amount a player can
put into a machine, which would act as a brake on high intensity play, and a bar on
additional cash inserts until the maximum credit drops below $20.
The commission says that measure should be introduced without delay in Queensland,
where the capability already exists.
A gambling program worker with the Salvation Army in Brisbane, Warren Henrick says
anything that can slow down gamblers is a positive move.
"I've spoken to people who've lost money very quickly on poker machines, and I know
you can lose money very quickly in any form of gambling, but certainly if limits are
lower, it'll take people longer to lose their money and perhaps become a little bit
less attracted."
Senator Nick Xenophon has called on the federal government to use its constitutional
powers to take poker machine regulation away from the states, which he said are
hooked on more than $4 billion a year in revenue.
Mr Henrick said the dependency of the states on poker machine revenue was in itself
a form of addiction.
"It's almost as if they're hooked on a dependency with that money, and I agree with
Senator Xenophon that sometimes it's very difficult for governments to make the
tough decisions and limit themselves to what they can earn through that revenue.
"Problem gamblers always think they can gamble their way out of trouble, but of
course it never works out that way.
"I think governments are in a difficult position trying to keep everybody happy, but
problem gambling is a serious illness and the sooner we put some of these
recommendations into place, the better off we'll all be.
"I've heard what Senator Nick Xenophon said about the need to cap losses as well as
how much is bet, and I would support that also," he said.
While he couldn't go into particular examples, Mr Henrick said the problem cuts
across all levels of society, from unskilled workers and tradespeople to high flying
corporate executives.
"I've seen cases where people have lost many hundreds of thousands of dollars
through poker machine addiction.
"It really becomes a matter of access, if a person happens to be in a position of
trust with access to large amounts of money they will lose their own money first,
borrow money legally, sell things, but eventually they will take money illegally."