Tassie on front line in fight to end pokies pain

This bully industry is used to getting its own way, but someone has to stop it, writes Tim Costello

I know something about the power and fury of the NSW pokies industry. I remember pulling out of a public debate in Sydney, when former MP Peter Garrett and I were warned by the Federal Police they could not protect us from angry pokies crowds.

Then we were to address a rally defending the then prime minister Julia Gillard’s pokies reform of a mandatory pre-commitment card – a card to lock in your losses before playing, as recommended by the Productivity Commission. The reform was defeated by the financial and political muscle of this $100bn pokies industry.

Later, in 2023, I saw this powerful industry defeat Dominic Perrottet who, as NSW premier, bravely announced he would introduce a cashless card to all NSW pokies. This was defeated despite the NSW Crime Commission, Police Commissioner and every health professional recommending it!

I watched the former Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White bravely go to the 2018 Tasmanian election promising to remove poker machines from pubs and clubs, and saw mainland pokies clubs and the Australian Hospitality Association pour massive donations into Tasmanian Liberal coffers to ensure the defeat of this brave policy.

But my hope that reforms were possible was raised by a Tasmanian Liberal government change of heart. In 2022, Michael Ferguson, then treasurer, backed by a research report and recommendation from the Tasmanian Gaming Commission, issued a ministerial direction to introduce a mandatory, cashless poker machine card with preset loss limits.

This is not new technology – Crown Casino was forced to implement a card for its 3000 pokies after a Royal Commission discovered shocking predatory pokies abuse, and Tasmanian casinos use similar cards for premium pokies players – however, when implemented statewide for Tasmania’s 3282 poker machines, it would be a nation-leading Australian first.

Because this historic reform will be extremely effective in reducing pokies harm and preventing addiction, and would set a precedent for a new standard in pokies consumer protection, the pokies industry is fighting furiously against it – just as I have seen it fight every positive reform over the past 40 years.

And for pokies reform advocates and the protection of Tasmanians, that fight just got harder.

Its champion, Michael Ferguson MP, has recently resigned from Cabinet. And the Tasmanian Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, recently commissioned a Deloitte report into the financial impact on pokies venues of implementing the pre-commitment card, without telling his then-treasurer Ferguson or the Tasmanian Gaming Commission, which is progressing development of the reform. Mr Rockliff added he wanted “a more measured approach”.

This is straight out of the industry playbook and Deloitte’s report will be as useful as saying more sales of cigarettes would be good for the economy. Yet, after licensing reforms in 2023, Tasmanian pokies pubs, with their new individual venue licences, are doing very well – with huge boosts to the percentage of pokies profits going into their pockets.

Where is Labor on this? Well, Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter has refused to ever meet me. But he has clearly heard plenty from the pokies industry, as he regularly promotes their preference for ineffective facial recognition technology. My only comfort is that I had a good Zoom with Minister Roger Jaensch on Monday and was satisfied that he is seriously open to understanding the damage to Tasmanians from these state licences. I invited him to personally visit and see how it is protecting great harm at Crown’s pokies in Melbourne.

I remain convinced mainland pokies interests have ordered the Tasmanian Hospitality Association to defeat this Tasmanian pokies card in its tracks, to prevent a roll on to mainland reforms.

Yet even our PM Anthony Albanese now says pokies do the greatest damage, in our nation with the world’s greatest gambling harm and world’s highest per capita losses.

Right now, Tasmania is the front line in the fight to prioritise and protect the health, social and economic wellbeing of people and communities over the super profits and political clout of vested interests.

All eyes are now on the members of the Tasmanian state Liberal government – willing them to stand firm with the Tasmanian people against a bully industry used to getting its own way."