Problem gambling is an issue that affects Greek Australian families every year. Financial stress is only one aspect of problem gambling; the strain it puts on family life, social life and the gambler themselves is a concern to our community.

One of the biggest downfalls for problem gamblers is poker machines. In recognition of this, Senator Nick Xenophon has been campaigning for a mandatory pre-commitment scheme that would see problem gamblers set themselves a spending limit on poker machines before they start to play.

More than two thirds of Australians – through a survey commissioned by UnitingCare Wesley and conducted by the Australia Institute – said this was a good idea.

Sophia Alexandra, Counsellor at Gambler’s Help Eastern, EACH Social and Community Health, told Neos Kosmos the mandatory pre-commitment scheme is a “step in the right direction in supporting problem gamblers”.

“Controlling the impulses and controlling the amount that (problem gamblers) gamble once they are in the venue is the most difficult thing to manage, so this is a step in the right direction.”

Senator Xenophon has finally got his agenda on the national forum due to an agreement Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie made with Julia Gillard in order to form a government.

“The Productivity Commission made it clear that (the mandatory pre-commitment scheme) would be a significant step forward so people simply decide how much they want to spend before they start playing,” Senator Xenophon told Neos Kosmos. “At the moment, people chase their losses.”

A report by the Productivity Commission into gambling in Australia showed that close to 100,000 Australians have a gambling problem directly due to poker machines. Over 200,000 Australians are already at risk of developing a full blown addiction; each problem gambler affects the lives of seven others; 40 percent of the $12 billion lost on poker machines is lost by people that are problem gamblers, and 15 percent of regular gamblers have got significant gambling problems.

“We are talking about billions of dollars lost and lives being destroyed,” Senator Xenophon said. “In Victoria, the Alfred hospital did a study and found that one in five people that were presented to emergency with self-harm were because of problem gambling.”

However, NSW Minister for Hospitality George Souris said that these reforms will destroy the clubs and hospitality industry.

“To stay in power, Julia Gillard is prepared to sacrifice thousands of jobs. Many food and entertainment outlets (including for seniors) support for sport and community organisations,” Minister Souris said.

Ian Cameron, CEO of The Hellenic Club of Canberra said the pokie reforms will impact significantly on the club. He said it’s the cultural events for Greek members – such as performances by international singers and artists – that are most likely to come under threat. “What they’re proposing will impact significantly on the poker machine revenue on the club. We are a large and diverse club, but the poker machines provide a lot of our income. If we drop 20 percent or more from our gaming revenue it will impact upon the rest of our club.”

But Senator Xenophon was quick to retaliate.

“Poker machines are a job killer, not a job creator,” Senator Xenophon said. “They don’t circulate the money around in the economy, plus there is a huge social cost. Is this industry saying that it’s acceptable to prey on the vulnerable and addicted, to continue to rely so heavily on problem gamblers? “What value do you put on someone killing themselves because of their gambling addiction due to poker machines? It’s immeasurable.”

The mandatory pre-commitment scheme will allow problem gamblers to apply for the scheme under which it is proposed they will receive a ‘smart card’. This ‘smart card’ will allow them to specify how much they want to play that day, that week or even that month and once the limit is reached, they can’t play anymore.

“The potential for harm is significantly reduced,” Senator Xenophon said. Mr Cameron said the scheme and use of ‘smart cards’ would put recreational gamblers in the same category as problem gamblers.

“The recreational gambler might go spend $20 to $50 on a poker machine,” he said. “If they need to go register and a get a card they need to put into a machine, I don’t think they will bother. From a problem gambler point of view, I think they will continue to gamble elsewhere. They may go to other forms of gambling whether it will be online or go to casinos as they are exempt from these regulations.”

But Senator Xenophon added that the hotel and club industries have been lying to Australians. “You don’t need a licence to gamble. The machines in Australia are some of the most high intensity machines anywhere in the world… With these machines you can literally lose thousands of dollars in an hour; the rate of loss is massive.”

With ‘smart cards’, Senator Xenophon said that “no one will monitor your play – even though the industry monitors people’s play through their player loyalty cards. That just shows what hypocrites they are.”

However, Mr Cameron was quick to point out that they “don’t disagree with the concept of pre-commitment, [they] disagree with the concept of treating every single person that wants to come into the club and play poker machines the same way. “We don’t believe every single person that plays the poker machines have a gambling problem.”

“We do a hell of a lot to identify problem gamblers,” adds Mr Cameron. “We have our education programs in place, training programs in place, support programs in place, providing information for our members if they do have a problem where to go to seek assistance. Being a club as well, we know our members. I don’t want to have members in here with gambling problems. I’d much rather provide them with the support and help they need.”

But while Mr Cameron said problem gamblers will find other ways to feed their addiction, Ms Alexandra disagreed and said 85 percent of her clients seek help for poker machine addiction. “For the great majority, particularly females, it is the only form of gambling they do, they have absolutely no interest in any other form of gambling, For males, who do gamble on the pokies as well as other forms of gambling, poker machines are the most destructive.”

For help with problem gambling, ring 24-hour Gambler’s Help line number on 1800 858 858. There are Greek speaking counsellors across the Gambler’s Help services for face-to-face counselling for the gambler and their families.