A few years ago, my dad started making , a documentary about Australia’s pokies problem. At the time I was 20, I was going out a lot with my friends and like many other people, the pokies didn’t mean that much to me. I felt fairly indifferent and would even occasionally play them on a night out. I always felt that the pokies weren’t a good thing, but I didn’t really know why. As the production of the film moved along and I talked about it more with my dad, I soon learnt why.
I learnt that Australians lose $12 billion a year on the pokies and that over 40 per cent of that comes from ‘problem gamblers’. I learnt that Victoria’s Prince Albert Hospital reports that 1 in 5 suicides they deal with are directly linked to the pokies. I learnt that the pokies industry target the poorest suburbs and that they specifically design their machines to be deceptive and addictive. I learnt that the government relies on the pokies for over 5 per cent of state levied revenue and that any suggested reform has been swiftly shut down by powerful lobbying from the gaming industry.
My feeling towards the pokies now is not one of indifference but one of pointed anger and disappointment. I am angry at our government who brought them in to bolster their budgets and I’m angry at Clubs Australia who argue that it is un-Australian to make even minor pokies reform.
One of the biggest problems with the pokies is that they are everywhere. Not only are they designed to be addictive and cause far more harm than any other form of gambling but it is a very rare thing that you enter an Australian pub and not find a pokies room (apart from Western Australia, who only have pokies in their casinos and as a result have a third the amount of problem gamblers).
No one else in the world is doing what we are doing. In Australia we have 20 per cent of the world’s poker machines, despite only making up 0.3 per cent of the world’s total population. We are not normal, we are not like the rest of the world, we are a strong outlier and it’s truly embarrassing. If you subscribe to the Australian ideals of a fair go, of honesty and mateship, then how do we justify the pokies? If you look at how the poker machine industry operates it’s not hard to see that Australian pubs are uniquely un-Australian.
While I feel a certain level of anger is necessary, just getting angry isn’t going to get us anywhere. Dad said when he created his film that it was meant as the start of a conversation, a springboard to talk to more people about why the pokies are so damaging. After he passed away last year I teamed up with my sister, Anna, to figure out a way to keep that conversation going.
Over the next couple of months we are going to be launching a campaign called Proudly Pokies Free. This youth-focused campaign aims to challenge the pokies as a fixture of Australian pubs and clubs and promote and celebrate a culture that doesn’t rely on the pokies. We are suggesting a positive alternative for our culture and nightlife, one that values good food, service, live music and true hospitality. We are starting the campaign is NSW because it’s there that lies the biggest problem. NSW has over 50 per cent of Australia’s 200,000 poker machines. Apart from Nevada (Las Vegas), that’s more poker machines than any other state in the world.
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Factbox: Pokies around the world
Since the campaign started a couple of months ago it has amazed me how many stories you hear about people struggling with the pokies. Nearly everyone I talk to has a family member, mate or colleague who has a pokies story. It’s my friend's housemate who asks for rent early, it’s the young guy I met playing pool last week that “hates the pokies” but lost a heap of money the night before. It’s the guy who contacted a friend of mine online saying he was going to take his own life.
Some people will argue against this campaign saying that that it is just another attack on civil liberties and people should be allowed to do what they want. To them, I would argue that an industry that manipulates and damages almost every Australian community, deserves some regulation.
It’s not going to happen tomorrow but we need to change the hold pokies have in our culture and community. I refuse to accept the argument that pokies are a “necessary evil”. That’s a weak response to a predatory industry and we can do a lot better.
So next time you go to a pub go and stand in the pokies room for a while and see how it makes you feel, I just hope that the feeling isn’t indifference.
If you or someone you know has a problem with gambling, or by calling 1800 858 858.
Tom Lawrence is the creator of , a youth-focused campaign aimed at reducing the harm pokies cause in Australia. He has worked in TV, film and radio as a freelance media producer.
