Gambling is said to be Australia’s national sport, and is a favourite social activity for many Australians. However, gambling has become a serious problem for a significant number of Australians, impacting on the health and wellbeing of the gambler, their family and our community. 

The Australian Greens believe there are five practical steps that can be taken immediately by the Commonwealth to reduce this harm.In 2005-06 Australians spent $17.5 billion on gambling (Productivity Commission Gambling: Issues Paper, December 2008). This figure is expected to increase in the forthcoming report by the Productivity Commission into the economic and social costs of gambling, as are the large revenues flowing to state and territory governments.

These latest statistics on the costs of gambling will no doubt show that problem gambling has enormous economic, social and public health costs to the Australian community that far outweigh the benefits derived from gambling revenue and employment in the industry.

Previous inquiries, including the 1999 Productivity Commission Report and the recent Senate Committee Inquiry, have shown this to be true. It is time we acted on this evidence.

Problem gambling is best understood as a continuum of behaviours including chasing losses, lying about gambling, and lack of control, difficulty controlling expenditure, financial hardship, and possible criminal behaviour. The social impact of problem gambling includes depression, anxiety, relationship breakdowns, homelessness and suicide. For every problem gambler there is an adverse effect on 5 other people, including at least 1 child (Productivity Commission, Australia’s Gambling Industries, December 1999).

Notably electronic gaming machines (poker machines) are associated with high levels of problem gambling, with evidence that 85% of gambling problems in Australia are attributable to poker machines.3 It is estimated that there are around 200,000 electronic gaming machines in venues around Australia, netting over $10 billion per year (Dr Charles Livingstone, Committee Hansard: Standing Committee on Community Affairs, 11 September 2008, p.4.).

A harm-minimisation approach to problem gambling - 5 strategies

The Greens support a harm minimisation approach to problem gambling. Harm minimisation focuses on measures to minimise problem gambling and prevent the social harms of gambling before they manifest.

The Greens propose the following key strategies to address problem gambling associated with poker machines. Many of these options have been discussed over the last decade since the 1999 Productivity Commission report, and we believe they must now be immediately implemented by state and federal governments in a nationally consistent manner.

The states and territories have taken only minimal action in the last decade to address the social and economic costs of problem gambling. It is now time for the Commonwealth to step up, take responsibility and implement the measures proposed below. The Commonwealth has the constitutional powers to regulate key aspects of the gambling industry and there is therefore no excuse for continuing inaction.

1. Establish the National Problem Gambling Prevention Fund

2.5 percent of net gambling revenue raised by state and territory governments would be directed to establish the National Problem Gambling Prevention Fund which is administered by the newly formed National Preventive Health Authority. The Fund will provide a number of functions:

• Resource support services by funding non-government agencies to provide counselling and rehabilitation services;
• Fund innovative research and policy development; and
• Develop public education and social marketing campaigns on problem gambling which will assist families and community to participate in early intervention strategies.

The National Problem Gambling Prevention Fund would be effectively resourced with little difficulty given that Australians spent about $17.5b on gambling in 2005-06. In 2006-07 gambling provided $4.8b in revenue to the states and territories (which is 9.8% of their total revenue) and 60% of that gambling revenue is from gaming machines (Productivity Commission Gambling: Issues Paper, December 2008, pp. 12 and p21). Based on these figures, redirecting 2.5 percent of gambling revenue would create a fund of $450 million per year.

2. Phase out ATMs in gambling venues

Enact legislation to remove ATM machines from gambling venues by the end of 2010 and to prevent the installation of new ATM machines in gambling venues. Problem gamblers are significantly more likely than other gamblers to withdraw money from ATMs at a gambling venue and having to travel some distance to access more money creates a disincentive to do so.

The Greens believe that the failure of state and territory governments to reach agreement on such a measure over a number of years means that it is the responsibility of the federal government to use its constitutional powers to introduce this legislation in the public interest.

3. Implement new restrictions on poker machines design

Design is a key factor in the addictive nature of electronic gaming machines. Slowing machines down and regulating the amount of money that can be put into a machine at any one time are simple, practical measures to address problem gambling that will not impact on the enjoyment of non-problem gamblers.

The Greens believe this can be achieved immediately through enacting nationally consistent legislation to place restrictions on poker machines including:

• No banknote acceptors on any electronic gaming machines;
• Restricting the size of bets per spin to $1;
• Placing a maximum number of bets per roll;
• Restricting speed of rolls to no less than 5 seconds; and
• Restricting payouts to no more than $1000.

4. Licensing restrictions

Easy access to poker machines is a key issue for problem gamblers. Reducing the numbers of machines and limiting their reach into the community are practical harm minimisation measures. It is of particular concern that the evidence demonstrates high concentrations of poker machines in low-socio economic areas (Dr Charles Livingstone and Professor Linda Hancock, Committee Hansard: Standing Committee on Community Affairs, 11 September 2008, pp.8-9).

The Greens believe this can be achieved immediately through enacting nationally consistent regulations for the licensing of gaming machines, including;

• Capping the number of electronic gaming machines on a per population basis at 6 machines per thousand adults (As recommended by Uniting Care Australia, Submission 238, Productivity Commission inquiry into Australia’s gambling industries, 2009);
• No new venues for electronic gaming machines and no expansion in existing venues;
• Locating electronic gaming machines in destination gambling areas and not in convenience gambling locations; 
• Establishing standard operating hours from 10am to midnight and strict limits on the number of 24 hour venues; and 
• Review the licences and practices of venues with high concentrations of problem gamblers.

5. Introduce ‘pre-commitment' technologies

Ten years ago the Productivity Commission Inquiry into gambling considered the use of pre-commitment options. Pre-commitment is a practical harm minimisation strategy with the potential to make the biggest difference in reducing the harm caused by problem gambling.

Pre-commitment technologies enable gamblers to pre-cap the amount of money they are prepared to wage before they start gambling. This sets a limit on spending that cannot be altered. There are a number of pre-commitment technologies available, including smart cards and bio-technologies. The Greens believe factors such as system security, appropriate penalties, inconvenience to casual gamblers and cost should be considered in the selection of technology.

The Greens call for a commitment from all levels of government to develop and implement pre-commitment technologies by the end of 2010.

Longer term measures

Adaptation from reliance on gambling revenue

Adopting a harm minimisation approach to problem gambling will result in a loss of gambling revenue to states and territories which means they will have to adapt and reduce their reliance on this revenue over the longer term.

The Greens believe a reduction in gambling revenue can be planned with agreed targets for reduced revenue and incentives for reducing such revenue faster.

The Commonwealth should investigate providing additional revenue to states and territories in a manner that encourages them to reduce their dependency on gambling. This might include changes to revenue transfer under the existing GST funds transfer formulae, with additional revenue criteria for states that meet agreed targets in reducing gambling revenue, complying with a national framework on capping and reducing poker machines and implementing agreed strategies to address problem gambling. States and territories with better gambling policies and lower reliance on gambling revenue (such as Western Australia - the Greens welcome the decision of the current and former Western Australian Government to restrict electronic gaming machines to the Casino) should not be worse off as a consequence of these measures.

Establish a National Gambling Regulator
The establishment of a national regulator for gambling is another important long term commitment that the Commonwealth, States and Territories must make. Independent regulatory control of gambling is essential for the development of appropriate and effective standards and compliance and enforcement in the public interest. A national regulator could also enforce national reporting standards to ensure consistent information about gambling around the nation. The level and effectiveness of regulation of gambling across the country remains inconsistent.

Not all States and Territories have implemented regulatory reforms recommended in the 1999 Productivity Commission report. The Productivity Commission recommended regulatory bodies have statutory independence and operate in the public interest, have a budget not tied to gambling revenue, a central role in providing information and policy advice as well as administering the gambling laws.

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