Page 1613 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
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(c) all Australian jurisdictions except for the ACT have load limits, and Queensland has introduced a load up limit of $100;
(d) reports indicate that the COVID-19 shutdown period has been a relief for some people experiencing gambling harm;
(e) in 2014-15 almost 20 percent of ACT adults played the pokies at least once, with losses totalling $37.48 million. Non-problem gamblers accounted for 37 percent of all money lost on poker machines, while 63 percent came from people with some problem gambling behaviours;
(f) the ACT Gambling Survey 2019 (Commissioned by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission, undertaken by Australian National University) found that:
(i) 9.6 percent of the ACT adult population (approximately 31 000 adults) experienced gambling harm in the past 12 months; and
(ii) 64.3 percent of respondents agreed that poker machines do more harm than good for the community; and
(g) the 2010 Productivity Commission inquiry report on gambling found the significant social cost of problem gambling—estimated to be at least $4.7 billion a year—means that even policy measures with modest efficacy in reducing harm will often be worthwhile; and
(2) calls on the ACT Government to work with poker machine venues to implement bet limits of $5 per spin, and a $100 load up limit. The implementation should be completed within 18 months, with gaming tax waivers used to offset reasonable adjustment costs and reward those venues that implement the arrangements more quickly.
I am bringing this motion to the Assembly today because we have an opportunity right now to make positive changes for people experiencing gambling harm. The shutdown of poker machines during the COVID-19 public health emergency has given a sudden and unexpected respite from the ongoing impacts of gambling harm.
We have heard numerous reports directly from people with a gambling problem or from their family members that the break from pokies during the COVID-19 shutdown period has been a real relief to them, a potentially life-changing break away from the addictive gaming urge.
With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions coming at various stages, we have a unique and clear opportunity to build a better normal. Things do not need to be the way they were before. While we have taken this unprecedented downtime to protect the physical health of our community, we can use it to put measures in place to offset the deliberate design features of poker machines that can cause real harm.
We can take steps to protect the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable Canberrans. Kate Seselja, a local advocate with lived experience of gambling harm, has been leading calls for changes to our gambling industry for years. She has said:
Coronavirus has meant the thousands of men and women in Canberra who regularly gambled on pokies have been given an opportunity to re-evaluate their relationship with gambling. In fact, it goes much broader than that. We have ALL been given a chance to re-evaluate our relationship with gambling.
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