The Cameron government’s reported willingness to curb some of the excesses of electronic casino games in betting shops (fixed odds betting terminals) is to be welcomed. Yet without far-reaching reforms…
Crown Limited, the casino empire majority owned by James Packer, earned $490 million in profit in the last financial year – no wonder he’s laughing.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Francis Markham and Martin Young explain why the deregulation of gambling in…
It is easy – and inaccurate – to suggest that Aboriginal gambling is just one more problem associated with remote Indigenous communities that needs to be fixed.
Martin Young
“Aboriginal gambling” has become something of a hot-button issue in recent years. A number of academic research articles have documented the “risk factors” for Aboriginal people that increase their likelihood…
Very little is known about the impact of gambling in regional and remote places in Australia, such as Alice Springs.
Bruce Doran
Although Australia is often portrayed as a nation of gamblers, we still know relatively little about the extent to which gambling affects our society. One blind spot in our knowledge is the impact of gambling…
It’s hardly surprising the Coalition would baulk at costly regulation in the gambling industry.
Flickr/Marionzetta
The future of Australia’s pokies pre-commitment scheme – which enables players to set a limit on how much they’re prepared to lose – is in doubt, with Labor likely to support the Coalition’s move to repeal…
Despite the known social harms of problem gambling, Australian state governments are allowing more casinos to be built and expanded.
AAP/Dan Peled
A new wave of casino liberalisation is sweeping Australia. The Queensland state government has announced that it is seeking expressions of interest for a casino development in Brisbane, and that it is…
Problem gamblers undergoing psychological treatment are spending less time and money gambling, according to a new study from…
The Coalition’s policy to combat problem gambling is treatment focused, excludes potential online competitors and makes no funding commitment. What influenced its creation?
AAP/Dan Peled
The Coalition has released its policy “to help problem gamblers” under that very title. If the betting markets are any guide, the Coalition is poised to win government on September 7, so the likelihood…
The psychiatrists’ bible, the DSM-5, recently added ‘gambling disorder’ to its list of ‘behavioural addictions’. But how true is its definition, and should it be changed?
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Since the issue of problem gambling was placed under the national spotlight by the Productivity Commission in 1999, we have witnessed ongoing public debate about Australia’s gambling industries. The commission…
Recent problem gambling campaigns may implicitly advertise for the very product they are trying to warn consumers off.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
The radio spot begins with ex-rugby league star Nathan Hindmarsh discussing his struggles with gambling: People might have thought, “Nathan Hindmarsh he’s got it made, he’s got everything”, but in reality…
Despite stated intentions otherwise, are poker machines at James Packer’s planned second Sydney casino at Barangaroo inevitable?
AAP/Dean Lewins
When is a casino not a casino? According to NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, who last week approved James Packer’s Crown Limited bid to establish Sydney’s second casino, a casino isn’t a casino without pokies…
Pokies- rather than individuals - form the backbone of Australia’s gambling problem.
AAP/Dan Peled
Institutions that make big money out of gambling – such as governments, casinos, clubs and pubs – are fond of telling us how much they care about problem gambling. Clubs Australia (the peak body for the…