Australians lose $12 Billion per year on Pokies

November 9, 2009

The pokie craze has taken Australia by storm. It is estimated that about 15% of Australians gamble regularly and, of this group, 5% of them play the pokies at least once per week. Losses on the pokies total to an astounding $12 Billion per annum. Statistics published by the Productivity Commission reveal that 15% of those Australians who gamble regularly suffer from problmen gambling, while another 15% are at “moderate risk” of becoming problem gamblers.

So, if these stats are correct, then what about the other 70% of Australians who gamble? Well, the Commission doesn’t clearly state how much this group spends or how much they do or don’t contribute to problem gambling. What it does state is that it recommends lowering the “intensity of play” on the pokies to limit the amount money a gambler could lose on these machines. They recommend that the bet limit be restricted to $1 per button push. This would reduce the maximum losses on one machine from $1200 to $120 and Players would only be allowed to play $20 at a time into one machine. It is perceived that this action could help reduce problem gambling by 10% and generate at least $450 Million per year.

With this new regulated type of gambling in place, the Commission hopes to branch over to online gambling; not because of the potential earnings that could come from this market but, instead, because of the “dangers to the gambler of a growing unregulated international industry”. According to the Commission, this action could help save the 4% of online gamblers from this unregulated form of gambling, which allows betting “24 hours a day, allows credit betting, has no intrinsic restrictions on bets size”. government hopes to recapture the 4% of gamblers who have made online gambling their preferred choice of wagering. Hence, they are appealing the the Australian government to allow online gambling if there is a strict focus on protecting the gambler from possible addiction issues.

Sounds to us like the Commission has good foresight. They understand that the $700 Million that Australians spend per year on online gambling could very well go into their economy, especially in these recessive times, and their angle is to “disguise” their concern for problem gambling with a pretty gift wrapper and bow by recommending a reduction in bet amounts. Forgive us for being cynical but online gambling is here to stay! It’s your money, so you should be able to spend it the way that you want to and online casinos give you that freedom and that luxury.

Play in Australian dollars at this casino and win as much as you want!

Written by admin · Filed Under Casino News, General News
Tagged:

Comments

Comments are closed.