Against the odds
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 28/09/2011
Reporter: Geoff Thompson
NSW Government statistics reveal that a fifth of all problem gamblers undergoing counselling in that state report committing a criminal offence because of their addiction.
<H2>Transcript
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Problem gambling's been in the spotlight this week with Government plans to impose limits on poker machine bets.
Now there's growing alarm about the links between problem gambling and crime.
New South Wales Government statistics reveal that a fifth of all problem gamblers in counselling have committed a crime because of their addiction.
The problem's especially noticeable in some of Australia's most drug-affected suburbs in Sydney's south-west.
Geoff Thompson reports.
GEOFF THOMPSON, REPORTER: They're both multibillion-dollar industries, which thrive in dark corners under artificial lights. But while one is legal and openly embraced by business, sporting clubs and government, the other is a spurned criminal activity, hidden underground.
Now new evidence gleaned from the parole records of convicted drug offenders proves that these two very different worlds are nourishing each other to an alarming degree.
Almost three quarters of convicted drug offenders from Sydney's Vietnamese communities claim that their gambling problems led them to drug crimes.
NICK XENOPHON, INDEPENDENT SENATOR: The depth of the evidence now is that there's a clear link between drug crime and gambling addiction. That's something that hasn't been revealed to this extent and it really strengthens the case for reform.
ANTHONY BALL, EXEC. DIR., CLUBS AUSTRALIA: It is criminal activity and Asian gangs - that is really what the police are concerned about. For Nick Xenophon then to make the huge leap and to say that this is the reason why we need to introduce mandatory pre-commitment is just amazing.
GEOFF THOMPSON: The strong correlation between problem gambling and drug crime was unearthed by Ambrose Dinh who was spent the past 15 years working with Vietnamese offenders in some of Sydney's most drug-troubled suburbs. He believes that even if a third of the claims are false, most are genuine.
AMBROSE DINH, NSW CORRECTIVE SERVICES: It's not my testament. I interviewed them directly and I know what they are doing. It's not my judgement because I - my work is interview those people and try to have the assessment on them so I know exactly what going on.
GEOFF THOMPSON: His confidence is supported by recent police operations which have targeted hydroponic cannabis houses and heroin trafficking syndicates in Sydney and Melbourne. At least half of those interviewed claim gambling debts led to their crimes and many say they were actively recruited from around poker machines.
SCOTT COOK, NSW ASIAN CRIME SQUAD: If they're in a gaming establishment, they are sometimes approached by what could be termed as loan sharks who offer them money. They're offered with high interest rates. Those people inevitably don't pay back, and they're offered a way out of the debt, whether it's by committing frauds, opening bank accounts, trafficking in heroin or smuggling heroin into - across country, or whether it's sitting on a hydro crop, for example.
GEOFF THOMPSON: Police and parole officers agree that convicted drug offenders are likely to say anything if they think it will reduce their jail time, a point Clubs Australia doesn't want ignored.
ANTHONY BALL: Let's keep in mind that these people are criminals and police are talking to them about that and prosecuting them, and it's a very easy excuse for a criminal to say that they're a problem gambler to reduce their sentence, and I think we need to keep that very much in mind.
GEOFF THOMPSON: But there is compelling evidence of the links between problem gambling and crime in the broader community too.
A NSW Government analysis of gambling counselling data found that 20 per cent of problem gamblers in that state say they have committed offences related to their addiction. Focus on south-western Sydney and that statistic jumps to 35 per cent.
NICK XENOPHON: The fact is there is a massive link, a very clear link between gambling and crime, and this related study shows how deep that link is and how widespread it is.
GEOFF THOMPSON: But even among those convicted for being drug mules or crop-sitters, few are hardened criminals. Most are first offenders.
AMBROSE DINH: No, they're not criminal by nature, definite.
SCOTT COOK: They look for people who they can use as sacrificial lambs to simply go and do the high risk activity, so that if they are caught it's not interrupting their business.
GEOFF THOMPSON: It starts with losing on the pokies and new friends offering easy cash, but in the end, the stakes could not be higher, particularly for heroin traffickers.
SCOTT COOK: Trafficking heroin from an Asian country to Australia is likely to get you caught in an Asian country that carries the death penalty. Likewise, trafficking drugs internally into Australia puts people at risk of having the packaging explode in their stomachs and they die in any event. So there are massive risks.
GEOFF THOMPSON: Throwing a new question into the debate over whether proposed pre-commitment legislation will reduce pokie addiction: could it keep some people out of jail or even save their lives?
LEIGH SALES: Geoff Thompson with that report.
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