The facts about Mandatory Pre-Committment

In September 2010, Julia Gillard made a deal with Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie to gain his support for the Australian Labor Party to secure government. A part of that deal was the introduction of an un-tested, un-proven mandatory pre-commitment scheme on all poker machines across the country.

This deal ignored advice from the Productivity Commission’s 2010 Report on Gambling which recommended that pre-commitment be fully trialed and then its effectiveness of reducing problem gambling evaluated before introduction.

Instead the Federal Government has backed the idea of a Tasmanian Independent who received just 13,788 primary votes and is now set to introduce a nation-wide licence to punt, a licence that invades your personal rights, and threatens the livelihood of our community clubs and the millions of dollars in support they provide to our communities. Mr Wilkie is now holding the government to ransom over the claims and has been quoted saying he will withdraw his support for the government if his demands are not met.

What is Mandatory Pre-Commitment?

Mandatory pre-commitment means that every poker machine player must show identification and register to obtain a card before they can play. On the card, players must decide what limit they wish to spend. They can set any limit, including no limit!

Problem gamblers will be the first people to obtain a card. They will be free to set dangerous, unaffordable limits, or choose to set no limit. Even if they set a reasonable limit, once they reach it they are free to continue to spend money on other forms of gambling, including sports betting, casino games and internet gambling.

Mandatory Pre-Commitment will NOT help problem gamblers!

The sad reality is that these reforms will likely do very little to fix problem gambling. Instead they will impose restrictions on the recreational gambler that will lead to a major reduction in revenue for clubs. As a result, community funding will be cut, meal and drink prices will have to be increased, entertainment will be cut and jobs will be lost. These reforms treat all Australians as problem gamblers, despite the proven fact 99.60% of us can enjoy a flutter on the pokies in a responsible manner.

Problem gambling is an important issue and we all agree it needs to be addressed, but the Gillard Government's proposed new laws won't work and won't help problem gamblers; counselling and treatment will.

What does Mandatory Pre-Commitment mean for my Club?

Clubs across the Werriwa and Macarthur electorates will have to spend more than $35 million just to install this ‘big-brother’ scheme and at least 560 local staff will lose their jobs because clubs won’t be able to afford to keep them on.

Many clubs across our region will have no choice but to close their doors. The domino effect will stop club contributions to local charities, sporting groups and impact ordinary Australians who love their club. If the scheme goes ahead this means:

Increased membership fees
Increased food and drink prices
No bingo, bowls or event facilities
No sports club sponsorship
Substantial cuts in employment
Cuts in community support to local schools, junior sport, charity and welfare programs, emergency services and disaster relief … to name but a few.

PLEASE JOIN US - YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Liberal Member for Macarthur, Russell Matheson and the Labor Member for Werriwa, Laurie Ferguson will be in attendance. Please join us and tell Mr Ferguson to vote against the licence to punt.

Make your opinions heard at our Community Rally

WHERE Campbelltown RSL, Crystal Auditorium
WHEN Tuesday 25 October, 7pm

For more information visit:

WONTWORKWILLHURT.COM.AU

Go to What's New Index