Due to the coronavirus breakout, all 4,000 electronic gambling terminals in Canberra fell silent. And despite many anti-gambling campaigners and various player protection organizations have been sharing concerns about the negative impact of controversial poker machines on local people, the full closure of all clubs and pubs hosting pokies in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) came as a surprise to some.
The complete shutdown of all venues that have been offering poker machines to customers has had a devastating impact on both entire businesses and individual workers. This unprecedented situation, however, could have even more significant consequences at the time it ends, so the real question here is whether it would be possible for everything to get back to normal once the situation is over. At a certain point, clubs and pubs would be able to safely re-open and accept customers but it is also essential for them to take measures to make sure the risk of gambling-related harm is reduced.
The last few weeks saw both the ACT Government and the Federal Government have taken action to support the 1,700 employees who are reliant on their jobs at local clubs and pubs. They have unveiled rental support, tax relief and programs such as JobKeeper as part of their efforts to lessen the blow for the entire gambling industry.
Future Measures Would Be Necessary to Guarantee More-Community Focused Gambling Sector
It is true that the gambling sector would need support and reliefs but these measures would have to be accompanied by serious discussions with the club owners in the ACT, with further talks regarding the future measures necessary if the state wants to guarantee a better industry that would also be more focused on community than being dependent on gambling revenues.
What is expected to make this process harder, is the fact that there are high unemployment rates, many vulnerable households, as well as an increasing number of people who are dealing with the negative impact that the lengthy period of self-isolation and social distancing measures have been having on everybody. This would be the time when the decisions made by local authorities would have a strong and long-lasting impact on the entire community.
According to some experts, the coronavirus crisis would mean that the ACT community support system is likely to be stretched to the limit due to the significant economic shock and an increase registered in community disadvantages. This would make it impossible for the traditional support services to respond to the emerging needs of society because of the gambling-related harm inflicted on people, as it could be worse than ever before because of the lengthy shutdown of the entire retail sector that has pushed Australians to online gambling.
On the other hand, returning to the status quo that existed before the coronavirus crisis, in which one in ten residents of Canberra was suffering negative effects of gambling on an annual basis, is not an option, either. According to campaigners, it would be wrong for the region to return to a business model where 40% of profits are generated by people who are facing the consequences of gambling-related harm. That is exactly the reason why anti-gambling campaigners have suggested to local authorities to unveil special measures to reduce the future harm that gambling could cause on individuals and communities.
ACT Clubs and Pubs Need to Cut Their Reliance on Gambling Revenue, Campaigners Say
Campaigners have been insisting that during the time of the industry lockdown, the Government must joint efforts with local pubs and clubs that operate poker machines in order to make sure that their workers are well-protected. They have also suggested to the authorities to provide such venues with the chance to fulfill their valued roles, including as safe community spaces where local people go to communicate with each other. The reliance on gambling revenue generated by pokes must be reduced, too.
The ACT Government has recently announced a package of support to the clubs sector, with the measure including an offer to clubs based in the Australian Capital Territory to receive monetary compensation in case they give up from their additional poker machine operating licenses. For the time being, this proposal is limited only at 250 electronic gaming terminals but if expanded, it could become a pretty realistic scenario for ACT clubs to focus their businesses’ development on offerings other than gambling and gambling-related harm. According to some campaigners, this could be explored as an option from local venues to fully stop operating poker machines.
Some experts have recommended that the ACT Government must take into consideration the expansion of the program in order to ensure that the number of poker machines on the territory of Canberra suburbs would be reduced, while certain financial support is provided to clubs and pubs to help them invest in community-focused economic activities. Considering the fact that even more harm could be inflicted on local people after the coronavirus crisis is over and the retail gambling venues, including pubs and clubs offering pokies, start operation again, campaigners insist that immediate action aimed at reducing the risk must be taken.
