THE Nowra-based Gambling Impact Society has called on Shoalhaven City Council to reject a proposal to increase the number of poker machines at the Milton-Ulladulla ExServos.
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Council staff will meet with club management and the board to discuss its application to the Casino, Liquor and Gaming Control Authority for an additional 20 pokies.
Gambling Impact Society chairperson Kate Roberts claims the increase could increase problem gambling in the area.
Ms Roberts works at local, state and national levels to raise awareness about gambling issues and problem gambling and helped establish national Responsible Gambling Awareness Week.
She is calling on council to reject the application, claiming Ulladulla has “significant risk factors” that could lead to an increase in problem gambling.
“The Shoalhaven, and Ulladulla in particular, has significant risk factors for problem gambling including high levels of unemployment, large number of retirees and pensioners, significant populations of indigenous people and unemployed young people,” Ms Roberts said in her submission to council.
“There is major body of evidence from both Australian Productivity Commission inquiries and substantial national and international research demonstrating a significant relationship between gaming machine accessibility and problem gambling.”
Ms Roberts said the Shoalhaven has more than 10,000 people negatively affected by problem gambling.
She said in 2001 the Ulladulla Community Resource Centre commissioned a 12-month drug, alcohol and gambling impact study which surveyed gambling harm in the community.
“Its findings indicate considerable risks in the Ulladulla community in relation to gambling harm.”
She said the survey found that financial loss and hardship, family breakdown and child neglect could occur as a result of gambling.
“Depression and mental illness were also identified as results of gambling.”
Ms Roberts said there is “irrefutable evidence from the Productivity Commission reports of both 1999 and 2010, along with a growing body of national and international research, which clearly demonstrate the causal link between access to Electronic Gaming Machines and community harm”.
She claims one in four people with gambling problems say they have marriage problems because of their gambling.
“Many people with gambling problems say they have lost time from work because of their gambling problem and 60 per cent of those in counselling had seriously contemplated suicide as a result of their gambling,” she said.
Given current Federal government and community support for poker machine reform, Ms Roberts said it was “appropriate and timely that Shoalhaven City Council review its policy” if it is to “fully represent its constituents in local government”.
The society has called upon council to “revoke its current neutral policy on gaming machines and develop a new policy to limit gaming machine expansions”.
Extra machines ‘won’t hurt’
SECRETARY-manager of the Milton-Ulladulla ExServos, Darryl Bozicevic, told the Times this week that the club remained committed to reducing problem gambling.
“The evidence is that having a few more or less poker machines in a club will not impact on problem gambling,” he said.
“In 2004 South Australia reduced the number of poker machines in the state by 20 per cent and the Productivity Commission found it had no discernible impact on problem gambling.“
He claims there are “far more effective ways to help tackle problem gambling“.
“Clubs already have a range of proven strategies in place for reducing problem gambling that have seen the problem gambling rate in NSW halve in recent years to 0.4 per cent of the population,” he said.
Mr Bozicevic has refuted claims that Ulladulla has an increased risk of problem gambling compared to the rest of New South Wales.
“The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority categorises Shoalhaven as a band 2 local government area with respect to gaming machines, indicating a moderate number of gaming machines and gaming machines expenditure per capita relative to the region’s level of socio-economic disadvantage,” he said.
“The 2006 NSW Problem Gambling Prevalence Survey found no increased risk for areas in the Illawarra region including the Shoalhaven.”
Mr Bozicevic said, based on most recent NSW problem gambling prevalence rate of 0.4 per cent of the adult population Shoalhaven has an estimated 350 problem gamblers.
Mr Bozicevic told the Times there is “no causal link between access to poker machines and divorce“ and “no causal link between access to poker machines and suicide rates“.
“The divorces rates in NSW and WA are almost identical despite the vast difference in access to poker machines,” he added
“NSW, the state with most poker machines per capita, has the lowest suicide rate - significantly lower than WA the state with the fewest poker machines.”
He said clubs provided the community with a net benefit, after accounting for the cost of problem gambling, of between $768 million and $5.5 billion annually.
“There is no reason to believe that this would be any different in Ulladulla.”
The ExServos is the third largest gaming machine profiting club in the Shoalhaven behind the Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens Club and the St Georges Basin Country Club.
Mr Bozicevic said the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority “expertly assess the community impact of gaming machines, free from any bias or vested interest“ and concerned community groups can make their own submissions directly to the Authority.
He said there was “no need for council to take sides” on this issue as it is not the decision maker and the task rests with “qualified and experienced members of the relevant government departments“.
“The Industry asks that council leave the decision making process with the experts,” he added.
