Gaming and politics in Australia: Ms Gillard’s gamble
Dennis’s mum plays the pokies too
IN AUSTRALIAN politics, “pokies” loom large. These gambling machines (poker machines, or pokies in Oz-speak) crowd the country’s pubs and clubs. Australians lose more than A$19 billion ($20 billion) a year gambling, about two-thirds of it on pokies. Julia Gillard, the prime minister, put together a minority Labor government 16 months ago partly on the strength of a deal to attack perceived problem gambling. On January 21st, after a campaign by Australia’s clubs industry, she ditched the deal. In doing so, she has further complicated her government’s chances of survival at the election due next year.Ms Gillard struck the pokies deal with Andrew Wilkie, a Tasmanian independent elected to parliament in 2010. Mr Wilkie was alarmed by gambling addiction and its baneful effect on addicts’ families in his constituency. About 600,000 Australians (4% of adults) play pokies at least once a week. On average they pour an astonishing A$8,000 each year into the machines. Ms Gillard promised Mr Wilkie legislation by next May that from 2014 would make pokies carry...
Read the FULL Article Here
Written by The Economist: Asia on January 26th, 2012 with
comments disabled.
Read more articles on business.
