Global Mail – 1. James Packer sweet-talked his way into building Sydney’s second casino at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour. Packer says the casino is his “gift” to the people of Sydney. Thanks bro.
2. Facing a deep budget deficit, Queensland turned to gambling to make ends meet. Premier Campbell Newman said that up to three new casino licenses were up for grabs, in a bid to lure middle-class Chinese tourists to the Sunshine state. Because what else does Queensland have to entice people to visit, apart from the stunning weather, beaches, rainforests and a barrier reef so nice that “Great” is actually part of its title…?
3. The new Coalition government is rolling back the previous government’s poker-machine reforms. The measures were designed to blunt the amount of money addicted gamblers pour into the pokies. Problem gamblers make up around 40 percent of the pokies industry’s annual take. One of the reforms on the chopping block is a law that all pokies be eventually fitted with pre-commitment technology (allowing punters to nominate how much they can afford to lose in one sitting, and then locking them out when they hit that limit). All good though. In place of a policy, the Abbott government has passed a statement, affirming its commitment to implement pre-commitment technology later on, sometime. A really well-written statement. I’m talking zero typos.
4. In NSW, home to nearly 100,000 poker machines — more than Mexico, Canada, or Portugal — the state government continued to roll back regulations and reduce taxes on pokies operators. The impact is being felt in suburbs such as Sydney’s Fairfield, the most pokies-packed area in Australia. It’s the sort of place where a local club boss doubles as the chairman of a problem-gambling clinic. What’s playing out in Fairfield might just be the future of gambling help in Australia. The Abbott government’s gambling policy will hand responsibility for addicted gamblers over to big clubs and pubs.
