Pokies clampdown will hit jobs, warn venues
BRIAN ROBINS
January 4, 2010
NSW clubs and hotels have warned they will be forced to lay off hundreds of staff if the Federal Government adopts recommendations aimed at imposing further controls on gambling.
The warnings follow criticism by the NSW Government of the recommendations, which have been put forward by the Productivity Commission. The recommendations suggest tightening controls over gambling at existing venues while at the same time opening the way for more online gambling.
South Sydney Juniors is one of the clubs opposing the plans. It says the proposed betting limits alone would have a ''devastating'' impact on jobs at the club.
The Productivity Commission issued a report late last year with a large number of proposed limits on the gambling industry. More recently, there have been a series of public hearings and submissions in response to its recommendations.
The State Government has told the commission the proposed $1 betting limit, compared with the present $10 limit which has been in place for more than 20 years, would ''have a significant impact on the viability of NSW clubs and hotels,'' the NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing, Kevin Greene, said in a letter to the commission.
Similar warnings were made over the liberalisation of controls for internet gambling. The commission has called for ''managed liberalisation'', indicating that it would not be worthwhile seeking to maintain controls on gambling in this area, given the continued growth of the internet.
''Internet gaming has the potential for exponential growth and without proper regulation it could pose serious problems to society and problem gamblers,'' the State Government warned the commission.
Clubs NSW forecasts that the recommendations would cut club revenues by 30 per cent, forcing at least 190 to close, resulting in hundreds of job losses.
The impact could be far worse, since the restrictions would worsen the financial viability of nearly all clubs, with severe ramifications for the role of clubs in the community, reducing their social and sporting roles.
In its submission to the Productivity Commission, South Sydney Juniors warned that the proposed $1 betting limit alone would cost the club $7.8 million in lost revenues annually, after taxes.
''We would need to make significant reductions to staffing levels, levels of commitment to junior sport in the area, mainly Junior Rugby League, and levels of entertainment that we provide,'' the club wrote.
''Given that we employ around 350 people with a wage expense of around $11 million per year, the impact on our local community with regard to employment would be devastating.''
The commission put forward a host of proposals, such as cutting cash payments down to $250 from the present $2000 limit, banning ATMs from all venues and increasing the present shutdown limit for poker machines from six hours a day. None of the proposals have been subject to any study or scrutiny.
Critics of the commission's report also pointed out that two of the 10 terms of reference put forward by the Federal Government require measuring the positive contribution from gambling, such as employment, community facilities and taxation, but these were not addressed in the report.
