Research that studied the pokie risks gamblers were prepared to take after they held a live crocodile has been awarded one of this year’s Ig Nobel prizes.
Gambling has impacts on many aspects of life – including employment, income and wealth. The release of HILDA’s latest survey provides more evidence to help inform decisions on gambling policy.
Fantasy sports began as a niche hobby for statistically inclined sports fanatics. But, with the internet, it has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
For some people, fixed-odds betting terminals are ferociously addictive, producing big profits for bookies and a rise in problem gambling. What’s the solution?
There is reason to suggest new reforms, such a banning credit bets and establishing a self-exclusion register, will have some impact in helping to tackle problem gambling online.
In Tasmania, a changing cast of actors has colluded to grant extreme riches to a single family, extracted in large part from the state’s most disadvantaged citizens.
No state wants to see its revenue base decline – particularly when the jurisdiction benefiting doesn’t even tax (or regulate) its bookies as well as it might.
The harm pokies cause is widespread and tends to affect those already under significant stress. $1 bets are a good first step toward reducing this harm.
The gambling industry certainly holds an attraction for former politicians. Perhaps it’s all that money, and the attraction of staying in the game – even if at a peripheral level.
While it is up for debate as to whether there are questions to be answered about various industry tactics and links to politicians, what isn’t a secret is how poker machines actually work.
Polls suggest that Nick Xenophon’s team will win a bag of Senate seats. Along with a re-elected Andrew Wilkie, and the Greens, will there be enthusiasm for gambling reform in the next parliament?