Insight (1995)
Clubland
TV-G
2011 • E31 Oct 31, 2011 60mWill reforming the pokies kill clubs?
Clubs and anti-gambling campaigners are in a bitter fight over poker machines.
Under proposed reforms, gamblers will have to set a spending limit before playing the pokies.
Clubs say the change will threaten their very survival, taking a big chunk out of their revenue. And that, in turn, would impact the services they offer communities.
But those supporting reform say the changes will only affect high-risk problem gamblers, and most Aussie punters won’t be affected. And they say clubs – which enjoy tax breaks – aren’t channelling enough of their poker machine money back into the community.
Insight brings together two key players spearheading each side of the debate – Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Anthony Ball from Clubs Australia – as well as ordinary club-goers and gambling experts to examine what’s at stake.
Clubs and anti-gambling campaigners are in a bitter fight over poker machines.
Under proposed reforms, gamblers will have to set a spending limit before playing the pokies.
Clubs say the change will threaten their very survival, taking a big chunk out of their revenue. And that, in turn, would impact the services they offer communities.
But those supporting reform say the changes will only affect high-risk problem gamblers, and most Aussie punters won’t be affected. And they say clubs – which enjoy tax breaks – aren’t channelling enough of their poker machine money back into the community.
Insight brings together two key players spearheading each side of the debate – Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Anthony Ball from Clubs Australia – as well as ordinary club-goers and gambling experts to examine what’s at stake.