If the vast majority of people who played the pokies were "vulnerable" you may have a point. But they're not, so you don't.
I agree that a vast majority of pokies users don't have a problem. But 15% do, according to the Productivity Commission. That 15% make up 40% of revenue from pokies machines.
I call these people vulnerable because the machines themselves and the environment they are put in are designed to take advantage of people. They attract people and the addiction is just like a drug addiction.
I have first hand experience with someone with a pokies problem (and it wasn't a gambling problem, she only played the pokies), and I can't stand it when people carry on that these people can help themselves. Many won't admit it is a problem and there is nothing even a son can do to help.
I've had my own experience with a club associated with an NRL team. I spoke to management there on what I could do. They didn't care. They gave me the G-Line number and a form that the person could fill in for self-exclusion. It only became an issue for them, when I made a huge scene inside the club and threatened to sue them for providing the person with free food and refreshments to keep the person playing.
people have a choice.
If they choose to piss away their dole cheques through the pokies that is there fault.
They have the power to change that, and there are mechanisms in place to change that.
Noone forces them to go to the club, noone forces them to put their money in the poker machine...
To say they are vulnerable is just stupid.
Some people don't have a choice. It's comparable to a drug addiction.
This specific pokies reform will actually allow people to make a well informed choice when they put the money in. So as someone who supports choice, you'd support this measure.
This.
If you stop them from playing pokies they will piss away the money on other things. i.e donkeys and dish lickers. The difference being is the clubs make more money from pokies which in turn gets put back into the community
Many of these people don't have a gambling problem but a problem with the pokies.
If they want to reform pokies they should get them out of pubs before they even think about targetting clubs.
You aren't very informed are you. All pokies, if they are in a pub, casino or club, will have to have pre-commitment capabilities. They are targetting everything.
It is just that clubs stand the most to lose so they are the most vocal.
You're an idiot. And I wouldn't normally say that to a fellow Pensioner.
