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MEDIA RELEASE
NICK XENOPHON M.L.C. INDEPENDENT NO POKIES
MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
WITH
POKER MACHINE LEGISLATION DUE TO BE DEBATED IN PARLIAMENT NEXT WEEK
‘POKIES WATCH
PHONE-IN’ WILL FOCUS ON THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY GAMBLING ADDICTION AND ZERO
IN ON SHARP PRACTICES
Phone in this Saturday and Sunday Numbers to
call: 8237 9112, 8237 9113, 8237 9114
With
the contentious Pokies legislation set to be debated in the Upper House next
week a ‘Pokies Watch Phone-In’ will highlight the damage caused by gambling
addiction and to zero in on sharp practices.
The
Pokies Watch Phone-in, organised by
the office of No Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon, will urge South Australians who have
been adversely affected by problem gambling – directly or indirectly – to
call in.
The
phone-in will also target venues that provide credit for playing pokies (which
is illegal), misdescribing credit card transactions, and providing alcohol to
players to the extent that judgement is impaired and losses blow out.
A
2001 report from Adelaide University’s SA Centre for Economic Studies revealed
there were over 23,000 pokies problem gamblers in the State – with each
problem gambler (according to the Productivity Commission) affecting the lives
of seven others. “In the lead up to the Parliamentary debate on pokies next week, it is important to focus on what this debate should be all about – the human devastation caused by pokies addiction, and the obligation the Parliament has to do everything possible to wind back the damage caused.”
Written and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075
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