Pokies reform is un-Australian, say clubs

SYDNEY (AAP) - April 11 - Clubs and pubs are wagering millions of dollars to stop a proposed gambling reform which they say is "un-Australian" and will drive away the average punter.
They're spending a reported $20 million to campaign against a scheme that would see pokies players sign up for registration cards on which they then set loss limits.
Labor last year promised to introduce the mandatory pre-commitment scheme by 2014 in exchange for independent MP Andrew Wilkie's support in forming government.
But clubs have vowed to fight the system which they say treats the recreational punter like a problem gambler.
They think the five million Australians who enjoy the odd flutter won't take well to the government watching their every dollar.
Clubs Australia president Peter Newell said the scheme will hit venues hard when it comes to revenue, and jobs are on the line.
"This licence to punt will send pubs and clubs broke," he said at the launch, held at a Sydney bowling club on Monday.
"(It) is quite simply un-Australian."
Pubs say the registration system is akin to giving alcoholics the green-light to down multiple beers.
Their "It's Un-Australian" campaign will target clubs and pubs around the country, as well as appearing in radio, television and newspaper ads.
But opponents have launched their own counterattack, with lobby group GetUp! planning to run their own newspaper advertisements supporting the pre-commitment scheme.
"We can never match their advertising dollars, but our aim here is to remind Australians that they're using money that has come from problem gamblers," director Simon Sheikh told AAP.
"It's a shame that at this point in time you can spend $20 million on an unconscionable argument."
He dismissed the clubs' line that businesses could go down as a result of the scheme, which is likely to cost $3 billion to put into effect.
He said if venues made that much profit from problem gambling, then they need to be stopped.
"If that's the way they're making money, then they shouldn't be making it that way."
Mr Wilkie and fellow anti-pokies campaigner Senator Nick Xenophon have also attacked Clubs Australia and the Australian Hotels Association, saying the ad blitz is based on lies.
Mr Wilkie denied the scheme will force every gambler to sign up, with punters given the option of playing "low intensity" machines if they don't want to register.
Senator Xenophon said of the 600,000 people that play pokies on a weekly basis, 100,000 had a gambling addiction, while another 200,000 were at risk of developing one.
The Productivity Commission heard that clubs made in the order of $800 million off problem gamblers each year, equating to 40 per cent of their revenue, he said.
"It's untenable to have any business and industry relying so heavily on the vulnerable and the addicted."
The federal government has also defended the system, saying it was about giving problem gamblers more control over their money.
But the NSW government is siding with the clubs.
NSW Tourism Minister George Souris said Prime Minister Julia Gillard was sacrificing thousands of jobs to back a system that will only drive problem gamblers online.