Gambling debts

[Bruce Tuncks]

The head of the pro-gambling lobby was reported as saying that it was awful to remove the "right" to gamble on credit for anybody.

Well, that is his job, to say such things.

Here's what I reckon a good government would do... You keep a list of "problem gamblers". These can be put there by anybody with a financial stake, a dependent or landlord or employer for example. The target would have a right of appeal, and there would be a fine for maliciously putting an innocent on the list.

Now anybody who took gambling money from a listed person could have to pay it all back, plus costs. 

Why has not something like this already been done?

 

[onetrack]

Bruce - It hasn't happened simply because too many people have a vested interest in ensuring that gambling continues relatively uncontrolled.

From the Govts themselves (both State and Federal) through to clubs and pubs, and now, online gambling platforms (which I believe are the worst of the worst), too many people are on that massive gravy train.

 

I'm glad I live in a State where pokies are banned from widespread installation (we have them only in the Burswood Casino). They're a blot on the Nation, and West Australians in the vast majority, understand this point.

[red750]

I have never seen the need to gamble.

I don't play cards or the pokies. Wouldn't know poker from Snap.

I don't bet on horses, football, dogs, two flies crawling up the wall or anything else.

I only take a lottery ticket once in a blue moon, when the jackpot is $50mill or more. Then I will take a small quick-pick. If I'm meant to win, that's all I need. If I'm not meant to win, 100 of the largest tickets won't do me any good.  (P.S.: I'm never meant to win. )

Could not win an argument with myself.

Blowed if I know where people get money to gamble with - I never had any.

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Here's what I reckon a good government would do...

It's an idea, but Utopian. It is also open to severe abuse, and impossibility of enforcement.

 

2 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

These can be put there by anybody with a financial stake, a dependent ... for example.

This would open the door to similar behaviour that surrounds Domestic Violence Orders. So many of them are sough out of malice, and even those granted for the right reasons are ignored before the ink is dry on the paper. It would be nice to strike out maliciously sought orders, but the "I'm just protecting my arse" attitude of authorities would not allow that. In a Club situation, who do you charge with taking money from a banned gambler? The cashier? The Duty Manager? The General Manager? The Board?

[nomadpete]

No level of our government (sandcrabs excepted) have acted to restrict gambling.

There's no point in banning anything - that only sends it underground and encourages criminality.

However, restricting advertising for instance, or the numbers and locations of one arm bandits would a big help. Cleaning up and de-glorifying casinos would help. As it stands, The heavy advertising of gambling and fact that one expects to see pokies and other gambling everywhere legitimises an activity that is known to be used for massive money laundering, and at the domestic level, preys on the vulnerable.

[nomadpete]

Of course, we'll never be able to control church sanctioned gambling. Bingo is one of their mainstays for extracting financial support from those least able to spare any cash to put in the plate. (In a past life I did bingo callback duties)

[Bruce Tuncks]

I reckon my mother was saved by the prohibition on gambling. It was only permitted in the 1950's with racehorses, and that was not respectable enough for mother. Few respectable women went near the sleazy races.

Personally, I'm even worse than red, I don't ever buy a lottery ticket. Raping, child molesting, gambling and evangelizing are things I just don't understand.

But some of my money is indeed used for gambling. The government takes it from me by tax and gives it to problem gamblers. OME, I see your point but I reckon they are just details which could be got right or wrong.

To answer just two of your points, the entity who would be required to pay the money back would be the one which took the money to start with... the business owners. If they had staff who didn't check the list then that is their problem. And church bingo is not for big gamblers methinks, so I would ignore it.

 

[Old Koreelah]

Gambling addiction is one disease I avoided, (thank Nev’s Dog).

I suspect most of us are issued a certain amount of good luck and I sure don’t want to use up my allocation with cards, pokies or horses. I’d much rather keep it in reserve for the important things in life, like flying and motorcycling.

[old man emu]

As a Club Courtesy Bus driver, I kill a lot of time between runs watching people play the pokies. One regular I watch would put and take hundreds in a night. Knowing that the legal take for the club is at least 10%, I often wonder how much this bloke has put into the Club's coffers, and the State's as well. Sitting beside him, watching the wheels go round gets boring as you keep looking for the big win. I notice that the small wins never match or exceed the cost of a pull. Well, it used to be a pull. Now it's a button push. At least in the old days of One Armed Bandits, a player got a little bit of exercise.

 

The worst thing to happen to a person is to crack a big jackpot early in their exposure to these machines. From then on, they chase the next big win, which probable never covers the money they put in chasing it. There are so many myths associated with pokies that one could almost create a religion around them.

[Yenn]

I thought I didn't gamble and that card playing was not necessarily gambling, but then looking back I used to. Four of us used to play Cribbage at work on smoko and lunch breaks, We used to chip in for an Opera House lottery ticket. The bloke who used to buy the tickets would not buy two consequtive tickets. So he bought one for himself, stepped aside from the queue, then after the next bloke, he bought one for the card players, That middle ticket won 250000Pounds. Bugga.

I had a very boring job, driving a winch on a construction site and used to read all the papers. Other workers used to ask me what would win at the races and I just used the most tipped horses as a reply. That was pretty good tipping. Came Melbourne Cup Day and my tip was Red something, which was scratched very late, so I said Red handed. As usual we adjourned to the pub. red handed won and nobody could understand why I had not had a bet on it.

Can't remember when I last had a bet on anything but I am Quids in.

[spacesailor]

" How much a person puts into a club pokey ".

My Nephew,  suffering from pain & legal drug withdrawal symptoms !?

LOST most of his $millions payout to his clubs pokey,s.

Drunk as a skunk most days, & can,t remember too much about that time.

Cheap booze & pokey,s a winning formula for the clubs.

spacesailor

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

11 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

the pro-gambling lobby

What on earth is the world coming to?