Expose NSW's gambling problem
Donation protected
Poker machines are Australia's dark addiction. We have 200,000 machines in this country, sucking $12 billion each and every year out of the pockets of those who can least afford it; the trail of carnage and the broken lives they leave behind are a tragedy.
NSW is the capital of this pokies empire. Half of the country's poker machines lie within their borders, and the clubs, pubs and state government have resisted all attempts to reform the industry for decades.
Their industry is shrouded in secrecy; NSW is the only state in Australia that refuses to make poker machine statistics freely available. These statistics can be used to drive better and more targeted reforms, identify communities most at risk, and devise more effective strategies for harm management, but rather than making the data available, the NSW govt charges for it. And they charge a lot.
That's where we come in.
I'm a former poker machine addict. I lost years of my life to the machines, but I was able to get out and rebuild. For the past 7 years I've been an outspoken advocate for gambling reform ; I've been analysing poker machine statistics from around the country for years, publishing my findings and working for real reform in the poker machine industry. I also maintain a list of pokie-free venues around the country, but there's one massive hole is all of this... and that's NSW.
I'm looking to raise $5000 to legally purchase a number of reports from Liquor & Gaming NSW, covering poker machine data in clubs and pubs across NSW. Once I have the reports, I will not only be able to publish my findings but will also be able to more accurately provide listings of pokie-free venues in NSW.
The reports covered include:
* Gaming machine annual reports by LGA for both clubs and pubs, covering two years
* State rankings by gaming machine profit quarterly reports for both clubs and pubs, covering the past 8 quarters
* Gaming machine statistics quarterly reports for both clubs and pubs, covering the past 4 quarters
* Number of gaming machines per venue report, which includes a listing of all NSW venues with poker machines and how many they have.
I can't afford to spend $5000 on reports; most people can't, and the NSW government knows it. So I'm asking you to chip in and help me raise the funds to get the data they don't want anyone knowing about.
And once we've got it, I'm going to publish everything on my gambling reform blog, Cyenne (www.cyenne.com ).
It's time we made this information public. And it's time the NSW government and the poker machine industry realised they can't hide any more.
NSW is the capital of this pokies empire. Half of the country's poker machines lie within their borders, and the clubs, pubs and state government have resisted all attempts to reform the industry for decades.
Their industry is shrouded in secrecy; NSW is the only state in Australia that refuses to make poker machine statistics freely available. These statistics can be used to drive better and more targeted reforms, identify communities most at risk, and devise more effective strategies for harm management, but rather than making the data available, the NSW govt charges for it. And they charge a lot.
That's where we come in.
I'm a former poker machine addict. I lost years of my life to the machines, but I was able to get out and rebuild. For the past 7 years I've been an outspoken advocate for gambling reform ; I've been analysing poker machine statistics from around the country for years, publishing my findings and working for real reform in the poker machine industry. I also maintain a list of pokie-free venues around the country, but there's one massive hole is all of this... and that's NSW.
I'm looking to raise $5000 to legally purchase a number of reports from Liquor & Gaming NSW, covering poker machine data in clubs and pubs across NSW. Once I have the reports, I will not only be able to publish my findings but will also be able to more accurately provide listings of pokie-free venues in NSW.
The reports covered include:
* Gaming machine annual reports by LGA for both clubs and pubs, covering two years
* State rankings by gaming machine profit quarterly reports for both clubs and pubs, covering the past 8 quarters
* Gaming machine statistics quarterly reports for both clubs and pubs, covering the past 4 quarters
* Number of gaming machines per venue report, which includes a listing of all NSW venues with poker machines and how many they have.
I can't afford to spend $5000 on reports; most people can't, and the NSW government knows it. So I'm asking you to chip in and help me raise the funds to get the data they don't want anyone knowing about.
And once we've got it, I'm going to publish everything on my gambling reform blog, Cyenne (www.cyenne.com ).
It's time we made this information public. And it's time the NSW government and the poker machine industry realised they can't hide any more.
Organizer
Tom Cummings
Organizer
Berwick VIC
