In my opinion, the solution isn't to get rid of all pokie machines, but rather to regulate the use of the machines. It's the same with basically anything considered dangerous/risky.
Once the genie is out of the bottle you wont get it back in. State governments are addicted to pokie revenue except WA - who according to the pokies thread on the footy industry - are the biggest gamblers in the world on lotteries. See story
here. A cut and paste of a couple of things i wrote about how state governments have become hooked on pokies revenue.
Blame section 51 of the constitution and state governments handing over income taxing power to the commonwealth for WWII and not getting them back. The states have to provide most of the services, but don't have the taxing powers, the feds give them tied grants so they don't have freedom, the high court decision of 1996-97 taxing away excerise duties from states and you have this massive Vertical Fiscal imbalance. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_imbalance_in_Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_96_of_the_Constitution_of_Australia
Yes the states can introduce income taxes but none of them will do it as income taxes are high enough and you will see business and individuals move out of the state.
So the state governments have gone on these gambling binges. In the 1950's NSW issued pokies for the Leagues clubs partly as a way to raise some revenue but also to build community clubs.
In the 1980's and 1990's the rest of the states in dire financial straits first let in casinos and then gaming machines as a way to bring in new revenue. They were hungry for new revenue streams. And whilst the GST all goes back to the states and isn't tied, has helped, state governments are still on a gaming binge as they spend money on the most expensive of government services - health and education. Its why Packer can ram thru his Casino - we are bring jobs and tax revenues to the state - it will only be for the wealthy gamblers - but 10 years down the track they will want gaming machines as they can't survive without them.
Until Section 51 of the constitution and the tax powers are fixed up and brought into balance, this state government binge on gaming machines will continue.
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Who is the target? Once the entitlements/machines are issued, then its bad luck how the licence holders use them. If the foundations are weak then they wont survive a good shake when the earthquake comes. The foundations of our federation re vertical fiscal imbalance are poor so the state governments wont stop issuing gaming entitlements.
And if you look at it, state treasury departments don't care if problem gamblers lose a shit load. If someone loses $500k and then loses their house, then that means the state government would have got probably $200k of that lose thru gaming taxes, the house has to be sold so that means more stamp duty revenue, but they don't have to pay any dole payments, Centrelink ie the feds pay all these other assistance package and charities get involved and help out the individual who has lost his life. So where is the incentive for the state government to stop this happening???
Until you get state governments off their addiction to gaming taxes and gaming revenues because the feds have not properly addressed the vertical fiscal imbalance issue, then the problems will continue. When those fundamentals have been fixed, maybe state governments will start to buy back gaming entitlements.