AUSTRALIA – International take on the Australian situation. They are a silent army, formed in ranks inside clubs and hotels around Australia, desperately battling slot machines in the hope of winning an elusive jackpot. Australia has 197,000 slot machines, called “pokies,” the highest number of machines per head in the world. Slot machines feed 62 percent [...]
Posts Tagged ‘EGMs’
“Pokies” roll the political dice for Australian PM
Monday, November 28th, 2011Woolies joins fight against pokie reforms
Monday, November 28th, 2011AUSTRALIA - Supermarket giant Woolworths, which operates almost 300 hotels, has criticised the federal government’s proposed mandatory pre-commitment rules for poker machines. With more than 12,000 machines in around 300 hotels across the country, Woolworths owns more pokies than the top five Las Vegas casinos combined. Woolworths’ annual meeting was hijacked by anti-poker machine campaigners who quizzed [...]
Fruit machines fill the gap as high street shops shut their doors
Monday, November 21st, 2011UK - Slot machines and gaming arcades are proliferating across Britain, as the economic downturn forces the closure of shops and leisure outlets. The first major study of where fruit machines are located has revealed that areas with high unemployment, dominated by the lowest socio-economic groups, tend to have the most. The Guardian & Gambling Kingz
‘Immersive’ pokie machines lashed
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011INTERNATIONAL - New pokie machines with earphones for punters that promise owners ”a new level of profitability” have been condemned by federal MPs, a Victorian minister and academics as dangerous and likely to increase problem gambling. Advertisements directed at venue managers, from US company Bally Technologies, promote the machines as having the ability to ”deeply immerse [...]
Xenaphon jumps on industry leak…. plus more on “pokiegate”
Monday, October 10th, 2011AUSTRALIA - Charles Livingstone gives an excellent and comprehensive round-up of the current state-of-play in Australia as the govenrment tries to radically reform their gambling laws against a vigorous industry campaign. ABC News. Sentator Nick Xenaphon speaks about leaked Clubs Australia report in a radio interview. The apparently unintended release of estimates from the industry suggests that [...]
Battle over gambling reform intensifies
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011AUSTRALIA – Lateline news story outlines how the battle played out during the NRL semi-final. ABC Net. And communications watchdog ACMA has launched an open investigation into whether Channel Nine has breached its licence conditions after its commentators attacked proposed poker machine reform during a broadcast. Ray Warren has admitted that the comments were not off the [...]
Australian pokie reform round-up
Monday, September 19th, 2011AUSTRALIA – Pubs, clubs and casinos have stepped up their fight against proposed poker machine reforms with a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign targeting key federal electorates. ABC News. THE powerful pokies lobby has threatened to launch defamation action against independent MP Andrew Wilkie over his claims that Clubs Australia had intimidated and bullied gambling help groups. The [...]
Queenslanders lost $4000 a minute on poker machines in August
Thursday, September 15th, 2011AUSTRALIA - Queenslanders lost $4000 a minute on poker machines in August – the most ever recorded in a month across the state. Experts were unable to explain the spike, but Mission Australia Queensland claimed up to 40 per cent of regular punters had a “problem”. Courier Mail.
Leagues clubs’ warning on pokie losses
Friday, September 9th, 2011AUSTRALIA – TEN NRL leagues clubs have warned they will cut millions in funding to their football teams – and even pull out altogether – because of the federal government’s plan to limit how much people can gamble on poker machines. Herald Sun.
Crackdown on kid-friendly pokies venues in Victoria
Friday, September 9th, 2011AUSTRALIA - Playgrounds and children’s activities at gaming venues will be investigated in an attempt to stop parents playing poker machines while children are in their care. The crackdown was a 2010 election commitment, and pokies activists have urged the government to act immediately because of the harmful affects on children. The 2010 Coalition Plan For [...]
