Assoc. Prof Charles Livingstone
In an interview on Radio National last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared that Australia’s biggest gambling problem is with poker machines, particularly in his home state of NSW. At least since the Productivity Commission of 1999, this has been abundantly clear.
This was seemingly used to deflect from the importance of introducing an advertising ban for online wagering, along with gambling on lotteries and lotto, which he described as “a far bigger problem than sports gambling”.
Every public health expert who studies gambling will verify that pokies (or electronic gambling machines) are Australia’s biggest source of gambling harm.
Addressing pokie gambling is Australia’s number one priority if we are to prevent or reduce gambling harm.
It also seems, following the weekend story in Nine Entertainment newspapers by David Crowe and Paul Sakkal, that the source of Mr Albanese’s expert advice on the harms of gambling appears to be Peter V’landys, National Rugby League (NRL) and racing supremo.
Mr V’landys is happy to see the PM steering clear of the ‘extreme ideological’ proposition of an ad ban.
It might be noted that Mr V’landys has some interests in the gambling industry.
He has made it clear that a key ambition of his with the NRL is to tap into the expanding US sports gambling market. His other job, of course, is to arrange horse racing to feed the gambling ecosystem.
Although setting up a competition between different forms of gambling harm might be a good deflection tactic, it’s reasonable to expect that the Australian Government could act to prevent gambling harm in more than one sector at a time.
Mr Albanese’s Labor predecessor, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, went so far as to agree with Independent Andrew Wilkie MP that a universal pre-commitment system should be introduced across Australia. The Solicitor-General confirmed that this was within the Federal Government’s power.
After a fierce anti-Labor campaign by ClubsNSW and other gambling industry rent-seekers, this failed when Peter Slipper became Speaker, and the ALP no longer depended on Mr Wilkie’s vote.
Interactive gambling is very much under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. If it wants to play pass the parcel with the states on poker machines, it needs to double down and clean up its own area of responsibility.
Mr Albanese (or perhaps Mr V’landys) also got his figures wrong. Recent very robust research provided ‘unambiguous evidence’ that over half of Australia’s gambling problems derive from poker machines – somewhere between 52%-57%.
Wagering (sports and racing) accounts for between 20% and 21.4% of problems, casino gambling for between 9.4% and 14.2%, keno for between 3.9% and 6%, and lotteries for between 0.1% and 1.0%.
In the Nine newspapers’ story, Mr V’landys appears to be suggesting that his estimates arise from data derived from gambling counselling. He should appreciate that, since fewer than 10% of people experiencing serious harm from gambling attend counselling, such a sample is highly skewed and likely inaccurate.
Although pokies cause most problems (which no credible expert denies) at least 20% of Australia’ gambling problems arise from wagering. They are the second biggest cause of gambling problems in Australia, and have grown rapidly.
Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, pokie gambling losses in Australia grew overall by 7.6%, to $15.8 billion.
Real wagering revenue, on the other hand, grew by 54.9%, to nearly $9 billion.
These data are from the Australian Gambling Statistics, and are adjusted for inflation.
Mr Albanese is using arguments straight from what public health experts call ‘the industry playbook’. He may be spending too much time listening to industry actors. The main reason for delaying action, of course, is to protect corporate profits.
Certainly, we need to tackle pokies. They are a major source of harm, and they are ubiquitous (which is why the losses are so high).
But wagering, notably online wagering, is rapidly expanding – at the expense of our kids.
The government could act tomorrow to prevent and reduce this growth of avoidable harm.
It could apply all the recommendations from the You Win Some You Lose More parliamentary inquiry report chaired by former Labor politician, the late Peta Murphy.
It could also address the harms of pokie gambling by introducing a precommitment scheme at national level.
Instead, we are offered deflections, misleading statistics, accusations of zealotry and prohibitionism, and procrastination. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Mr Albanese has been cowed into timidity by vested interests.
He’s going into bat for the gambling ecosystem, not Australia’s kids.
Associate Professor Charles Livingstone is based at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, and is part of the World Health Organisation’s Expert Group on Gambling and Gambling Disorder. Dr Livingston is also a current member of the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, and was on the Australian Government’s Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling 2010-2012.