edition.cnn.com/2017/08/28/health/australia-gambling-addiction-poker-slot-machines/index.html
At $990 USD per person Australians beat Singapore $650 USD
Ireland $500 hands down 
Yes!! Australia should be proud of being a world leader. Are you suggesting otherwise??
Do we need to pick up our game?? Most certainly!!
Wandered in to Jupiters casino 27 years ago mid afternoon just to see what it looked like. Rows and rows of mostly oldies, blank faces, poking money in and watching the lights flash and the dials roll. No conversation, no laughter, no fun. Most depressing thing I'd seen.
The Chinese are usually given the unenviable title of "top gamblers". Horses, dogs, cards, whatever. I sometimes wonder if it is a form of distraction to draw our attention away from our very own problems. We have so many pokie machines in so many outlets, the government must be laughing all the way to the bank while holding hands with the gambling lobby and of course, the clubs.
Louis Theroux did a documentary on such a topic in USA. Besides the high rollers who thought nothing of dumping $100,000 into the shredder, there was a senior lady who was a doctor. She was a regular since her husband's death. She fed a large amount of big denomination notes into the machines, yes, multiple machines all at once, and pressed the button one three machines. Ka-chin, ka-chin, off they went and spun around. Lots of lights flashing and beaming.
Then it came up blanks. More feeding of the hungry beast. Ka-chin ka-chin...
She was asked why she wasted, yes, Louis Theroux was being blunt about it, why waste so much money on such dumb machines? She replied "Why not?" Apparently she has wasted $1 million already. And she is going gamble her son's inheritance away !
I suppose it is the same as people wasting their time on mobiles phones, or us on the Internet. It is the mundane things that take away the boredom. Not need to worry about the mortgage payments, the traffic fines, or the pain of losing your spouses.
So proud
Hate the things... Andrew Wilkie tried to do something about them... but...
Sadly I think the tax take means they are here to stay in the eastern states: Here are the figures of machines in use:
New South Wales: 100,500
Queensland: 47,811
Victoria: 30,000
South Australia: 13,113
Australian Capital Territory: 5,200
Tasmania: 3,680
Northern Territory: 2,195
Western Australia: 1,750
In 2015-2016, NSW had 93K machines, which had revenues of ~$80B. And what does the NSW tax look like... here it is:
If a club makes less than $250,000 in quarterly gaming machine profit, it pays no tax.
For clubs that make a quarterly profit over $250,000 and up to $450,000, the quarterly tax rate is 28.05%.
If a club makes more than $450,000 in quarterly profit, the following rates apply:
- 0% (nil) on the first $250,000
- 28.05% on the profit over $250,000 up to $450,000
- 18.05% on the profits over $450,000 up to 1.25m
- 22.55% on the profit over $1.25m up to $2.5m
- 24.55% on the profit over $2.5m up to $5m
- 26.55% on the profit over $5m
What does that all mean - a little more than $2B into the NSW government coffers in 2014-2015 (from the $68B gaming machine revenue). Good luck convincing a government to give up that line of revenue.
In WA, we are lucky, the horrid things are restricted to just one place... the casino...
Is there anything Russians can't hack?
www.wired.com/2017/02/russians-engineer-brilliant-slot-machine-cheat-casinos-no-fix/
www.wired.com/story/meet-alex-the-russian-casino-hacker-who-makes-millions-targeting-slot-machines/
That'd be, specifically, the Aristocrat machines. Australian company.
The machines are created to be very appealing to the senses. Particular noises. Particular lights. Watch a child gaze into the secret cave of slot machines next time the opportunity presents itself.
Select to expand quotePugwash said..
So proud Hate the things... Andrew Wilkie tried to do something about them... but...
In WA, we are lucky, the horrid things are restricted to just one place... the casino...
Governments in the Eastern states are addicted to the money it collected from gambling. Quite a large proportion of their revenues are factored into their budget. A huge black-hole will be there if they stop gambling altogether. It is just like alcohol, tobacco.
I wonder if the governments are actually serious about reducing problem gambling. Sure, token gestures are provided in the form of gambling reduction programs and counseling. But what does it actually do ? "Don't gamble because it is bad for you ?" While at the same time racking in the money ?
What's the problem? It's voluntary taxation.
The garish colours and tinny sounds are bloody annoying, 'though. Every bit as bad as second hand smoke
