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Ref:7/2002
3
May, 2002
Pokies
Cap Inadequate
“The announcement today that South Australians
will lose $600 million on poker machines this year is alarming” said
Mark Henley, Manager of Advocacy and Communication for Adelaide Central
Mission. “Sadly this increase in gambling turnover also means that
there is greater demand for support services from people with gambling
problems, and it means that there are more members of the families
of problem gamblers who are going without.”
Adelaide
Central Mission is concerned that the “pokies cap” introduced 18
months ago is not working. “It is ridiculous that 18 months after
a cap was introduced, we still have more poker machines being installed,” added
Mr Henley, “despite surveys showing that over 70% of the population
believe that we have too much gambling already”
In
response to the continued increase in gambling related harm, Adelaide
Central Mission is calling for the following 3 actions to be implemented
immediately:
-
Rescind the licenses for machines not yet installed. (If machines can’t be installed in 18 months, there cannot be any “need” for them)
- Independent
Gambling Authority to conduct a wide spread community discussion
on strategies to produce an effective cap on gambling turnover,
not just the number of machines.
- A
program to reduce the total number of machines and total gambling
turnover, over the next 3 years.
“This State needs a gambling cap that works” Mr Henley concluded.
| For Further Comment | |||
| Mark
Henley Senior Policy Officer |
8202
5135 (w) 0404 067 011 (mob) |
||
