Author Archive
pokies 101: don’t gamble with education
Having successfully seen off the threat of mandatory pre-commitment, Clubs Australia have turned their attention to the question of image. They’re desperate to been as champions of real reform, while at the same time ensuring that their own particular brand of gambling can carry on unimpeded.
dollar signs or dragons?
Earlier this year, the Victorian state government introduced legislation covering signage for poker machine venues. Labelled “plain packaging for pokies”, the new rules are supposed to stop venue operators from putting up glitzy “Las Vegas-style” signs once the Tatts/Tabcorp duopoly ends in August 2012.
oh when the saints come cashing in
St Kilda FC may not be the only AFL club to count a sports betting company amongst its sponsors (almost half of the teams in the AFL have sports betting sponsorships) but they are certainly the best known for it. Centrebet’s major sponsor deal with the Saints gives the online betting agency jumper-naming rights and a heck of a lot of advertising time.
a hollow victory
Well, it finally happened. More than two months after the Gillard/Wilkie agreement broke down under the strain of relentless industry campaigning, and almost a year to the day after that campaign was launched, Clubs Australia has claimed victory in the “pokie reform war.”
my submission to the joint select committee – problem gambling
For the past couple of months I’ve been banging on about the Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform’s inquiry into the treatment and prevention of problem gambling. I believe it’s vital that anyone who has something to say about problem gambling should make themselves heard; this may be the last chance we have for a while.
GET WILKIE!!!
Deep in the bowels of Clubs Australia lies the poker machine war room: a reinforced construction of concrete and steel, impervious to attack or common sense. There are no clocks, the lighting is dim and tacky electronic music warbles through the loudspeakers. The air is redolent with the tang of stale beer and cold coffee.
much ado about nothing
In the ever-changing world of poker machine reform, Thursday March 22 2012 was shaping up as a red letter day. Parliament were sitting for the last time before the May Budget, and the government was keen to introduce their National Gambling Reform Bill before the break.
silent treatment? we should be so lucky!
I’ve read a lot of Clubs Australia media releases over the past couple of years. As a result, I’ve got a pretty good handle on the rules they follow when they write this rubbish. Truth is generally optional; in their world you don’t have to be able to supply proof, you just need to shout loudly and often.
Today’s offering is a prime example.
with friends like these
Poker machines have become a very dangerous game for the Labor government.
gambling and your team
updated 18/04/2012
Sport and gambling. These days, the two rarely seem to be too far from each other. If it isn’t corruption and match-fixing making the headlines, it’s live odds during broadcasts and stadium naming rights. Professional sportsmen are banned by their leagues from placing a wager on their sport. Internet betting provides access to sports markets around the world. And everyone knows how invested our major codes have become in the business of running poker machines.
