A favour to ask....

[Fossie 32]

I can do that for you.

Eek nnoooo I was quoting Bresker's post.

 

[Chief]

Eek nnoooo I was quoting Bresker's post.

Too late!

 

[Fossie 32]

Too late!

 

[ossie_21]

Vale Fossie 32..

You played ya self

 

[dogwatch]

Bet you regret all those terrible things you said about Carlton now.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Been nice knowin' ya...

 

[immortalmike]

Bet you regret all those terrible things you said about Carlton now.

Using the word "bet" in this thread DW? Really!?

 

[bresker]

Hey all, a year and a bit later I have returned to reflect on this matter.

When I told the club I was going to run as a director, I wonder whether they had internally made a decision on the pokies licenses?

Two scenarios :-

1.) If they had made the decision to ditch the pokies, or were close to it , :- I don't see why they didn't share that information with me. You can make the claim that it's 'commercially sensitive,' but that hasn't stopped the club publicly saying it will get rid of the machines without supplying a timeline or finding buyers. Maybe they didn't want to share confidential info with a common pleb like me before they went public, but I would have committed to sit on the news if they provided it to me on the quiet.

2.) If the club hadn't made a decision on the pokies :- then I'm glad a I ran. I made an impassioned speech in front of the management & directors telling my personal story of harm from gambling. I've done some media training since then and have realised the importance of using my lived experience to influence policy makers. Perhaps I helped make up the minds of some club officials who were wavering in their decisions.

Thanks for all your support, and if you didn't agree with my actions I wish you no ill will.


Now to the future :-

Essendon Football Club operates a pokies venue at the Melton Country Club. The council owns the venue, but has just granted the Bombers a very lucrative 29 year lease, to expire at the end of 2047.

Gamblers lost $5.69 million at the venue last year. 29 years at a minimum $6 million a year means that Essendon could net a tidy $174,000,000 over the next three decades. The final figure may be much more, as gambling losses increase yearly under the gaze of kindly socialist Uncle Andrews.

Why is Melton Council leasing their property to Essendon football club? Why is a council without a public hospital or university allowing a football club to take $174,000,000 from its most disadvantaged residents? Why is Melton paying off Essendon's drug debts?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-lock-in-three-decade-pokies-lease-20181211-p50lkd.html

I'm thinking of organising a protest outside our game this season. I would have preferred it to be a home game but we don't have one.

So on round 21, Saturday August 10th it's the inaugural "Essendon - keep your grubby hands off the West!" protest round. Unless someone comes up with a snappier title?

Please involve yourself in any way you can. I'm hoping for a decent show outside the ground with media in attendance.

Keep the date free, more information to follow.

 

[dogwatch]

Direct action. Needs guts, but very effective.
Kudos bresker

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Third possibility is it was in motion but not official, hence they wouldn't have let you know in case it didn't pass.

Either way, if you've grown personally from the experience tthat's all that matters.

 

[gangsta deluxe]

Whatever the impact - you did the right thing and I am thankful there are supporters like you who are willing to stand up for what is right in the management of our club.

 

[ossie_21]

Bulldogs to exit gaming industry

The MRC has agreed to purchase the licences for Club Leeds in Footscray and the Peninsula Club in Dromana, inclusive of 65 gaming machines across both venues.

m.westernbulldogs.com.au

Well done bresker (hope you’re still around here), no doubt rattling the cage has helped this to transpire

 

[dogwatch]

Good story.
Retiring them would have been ideal but understandable why they didn’t.

 

[ScragCity]

bresker you are my hero mate. Well done.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

There's a video of Baines saying money from sales will go straight to further WO development so that's even more of a postitve.

 

[bresker]

Good story.
Retiring them would have been ideal but understandable why they didn’t.

Great day. Thanks Bulldogs.

I was hoping the AFL would buy the licenses & retire them, as was the rumour I heard.

Some might say 'what's the point of moving the licenses on somewhere else, if the pokies are still around?'

Our strategy is similar to that of the anti-tobacco campaigners of the 1970s-1990s. They focused on removing ciggy sponsorship from sports & events first. Similarly, if the AFL is a family friendly organization, it needs to divest from something as harmful as poker machines.

With the MRC, at least you know where you stand - it's an organization that exists simply for the purpose of gambling. With a bit of horse running thrown in.

In other exciting news, Cricket Australia is ending sponsorship from sports betting firms (I believe they're sponsored by Bet365). Apparently they hold $800m in property, stocks and shares so they can afford to do it. The board wavered so the chairman sold it as an integrity issue, as cricketers have been involved in match fixing.

The AFL could afford to survive without endless sports betting ads but don't hold your breath!

 

[AJARWA]

Wasn't sure if this should go in the covid thread or here... Apologies for cross posting.

More evidence of why we love your work bresker.

These three people's lives have changed because the pokies have shut down

The coronavirus shutdown has negatively affected so many aspects of the economy, but for these Australians, the closure of pokies rooms has changed life for the better.

mobile.abc.net.au

 

[bresker]

 

[dogwatch]

I'm just waiting for a spokesperson for the pokies industry say "but ... but ... the jobs! We need to get people back to work!"

Parasites.

 

[ivan rassmussen]

I'm just waiting for a spokesperson for the pokies industry say "but ... but ... the jobs! We need to get people back to work!"

Parasites.

Here here. There were lots of jobs before pokies... in the pubs, the clubs, and the venues that used to have live music.

 

[bresker]

I'm just waiting for a spokesperson for the pokies industry say "but ... but ... the jobs! We need to get people back to work!"

Parasites.

With the $15 billion losses on the pokies per year, we could pay every publican & gaming worker a handsome wage to retire on their arses and still come out on top.

Woolworths, Tabcorp etc own a large share of our pokies - and who owns them? Wealthy shareholders, often from the US of A. Or your super fund.

The money flows out to the rich. Our heartland, the western suburbs, are hit harder than anywhere.

 

[D Mitchell]

Great day. Thanks Bulldogs.

I was hoping the AFL would buy the licenses & retire them, as was the rumour I heard...

The 'dogs sold off the pokies because that form of gambling has no future, more fool Essendon. The extraordinary hasn't happened since 1998 and won't in the AFL. God bless you and yours, Bresker.

 

[Sentinel]

The 'dogs sold off the pokies because that form of gambling has no future, more fool Essendon. The extraordinary hasn't happened since 1998 and won't in the AFL. God bless you and yours, Bresker.

At the risk of sounding like an ignoramus, why do you say pokies has no future as a form of gambling? As much as I wish that were true, I read an SMH article saying profits were expected to increase 12% in NSW between 2018 and 2021. Obviously written pre-coronavirus.

Or am I maybe missing a level of sarcasm in your post?

 

[D Mitchell]

At the risk of sounding like an ignoramus, why do you say pokies has no future as a form of gambling? As much as I wish that were true, I read an SMH article saying profits were expected to increase 12% in NSW between 2018 and 2021. Obviously written pre-coronavirus.

Or am I maybe missing a level of sarcasm in your post?

Pokies are predominantly played by the older and the poorer, a diminishing demography. Younger, more affluent gamble online. That's not going to change. A study I read a few years back, now. No risk, no sarcasm.

 

[Sentinel]

Pokies are predominantly played by the older and the poorer, a diminishing demography. Younger, more affluent gamble online. That's not going to change. A study I read a few years back, now. No risk, no sarcasm.

Right. The article I was referring to is this one: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...illion-each-year-by-2021-20180712-p4zr5m.html

What you say about younger types preferring online makes sense, but I suspect we have a generation to get through before that becomes commonplace. This is completely anecdotal, but in the case of the pokies joint I live nearby to - every time I walk past it, particularly during the 'unsocial' hours where you'd expect to find problem gamblers, it's filled with punters closer to middle age rather than stereotypical pensioners. Based on that alone, I don't see it going backwards for quite a few years yet. Perhaps the current situation will breed new habits though.

I'd love for a level of legislative reform but don't expect to see it anytime soon.