Loners drive pokies splurge

Andrew Mathieson
An increase in “socially isolated” gamblers is driving a splurge on pokies in Geelong, according to a counselling service.
Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation statistics show that City of Greater Geelong has put nearly $50 million through gaming machines since the start of the financial year.
Geelong’s pokies spending was the highest for any municipality in regional Victoria and the fourth largest in the state behind Melbourne’s Brimbank, Monash and Casey council areas.
Problem gamblers spent an extra $504,000 in the same period last year until December 2007 on 1371 poker machines at 26 Geelong venues.
Bethany Gambler’s Help manager Kathy Ryan said a growing number of Geelong gamblers had no support from family or friends.
“We do have a lot of people who are living on their own and who aren’t in a married situation – they are socially isolated,” she said.
Ms Ryan said a “large group” of the City’s problem gamblers were struggling on some form of government benefit.
They were often from a low social economic index suburbs such as Corio, Norlane and Bell Park, she said.
Ms Ryan said poker machines were addictive and “mesmerised” users.
“The machines are created in such a way that when people play them they become immersed in them,” she said.
Gambler’s Help, which was keen to control or stop gambling, supported the proposed introduction of new “smart cards” to limit spending, Mrs Ryan said.
City Hall is also concerned about the number of poker machines in the Geelong area despite a State Government cap.
Cr Jan Farrell said council adopted a gaming framework in April last year to help address the potential, harmful effects of gaming.
“The basis of the City’s gaming framework is to prevent additional gaming machines from being installed in areas that already have a high concentration of pokies and encourages a general reduction in the density of gaming machines by relocating machines within the municipality,” she said.
Cr Farrell sits on a local government working group on gaming. She is also a member of a ministerial advisory group on responsible gaming.
The City had made a submission to a select committee on gaming requesting any State Government revenue collected through gaming machines to be channelled back into communities, she said.
Ms Ryan urged problem gamblers seeking help to phone Bethany on 5278 8122 for free, confidential advice or counselling.