Gambling advertising rolls

And you wouldn’t advocate a different policy in your club because it would cut back on the discount and after all it’s only at the expense of dumb losers. Your conscience is clear but so is empty space.

I have no view for or against pokies – I simply believe that you are stupid if you use them (regardless of your level of formal education, job, background etc). What stupid people do with their own time and money is none of my business. That’s why I wouldn’t bother lobbying the clubs that I am a member of that do have pokies and advocating they shut down them down.

“Friends and family can help”

Indeed. You know where all their valuables are so you can rip them off next time you get into debt.

I agree monomania; like most addicts, there is no way that most gamblers would ever start gambling if they could foresee the consequences. But I also think that the dangers of addiction are very well-known, and so at some point, people make the informed decision to start gambling/drinking etc… This makes them fully responsible for that initial decision – which some might say is a fairly stupid one.

Clown Killer said :

I disagree, people get addicted to pokies because they are stupid, not because the pokies are addictive – pokies are no different to any other vice that dumb people embrace (drugs being an outstanding example).

You seem to be suggesting that pokies somehow lure people to them and force them to feed in the coins. That’s just bollocks.

I believe if a person who is now a problem gambler could go back and never put a coin into a pokie they would. They don’t come with warning signs. Among other places they are rampant in social clubs, organisations formed for the benefit of ALL their members.

Clown Killer said :

And as far as I’m concerned, I pay whatever the members price is for food and drinks at the clubs I attend – if that discount comes on the back of morons playing pokies then so be it, my conscience is clear regardless.

And you wouldn’t advocate a different policy in your club because it would cut back on the discount and after all it’s only at the expense of dumb losers. Your conscience is clear but so is empty space.

Bloody italics.

Clown Killer said :

I disagree, people get addicted to pokies because they are stupid, not because the pokies are addictive – pokies are no different to any other vice that dumb people embrace (drugs being an outstanding example).quote]

People with addictive personalities/compulsive disorders get addicted to all kinds of stuff (alcohol, drugs, gambling, exercise, sex, eating, cleaning, working, other people etc…). Intellect is largely irrelevant, as all kinds of people have addictive personalities. So – the pokies are really only addictive to those people with a propensity towards addiction in the first place.

That said, if you know you have an addictive personality or even a family history of addiction, then it is pretty bloody stupid to allow yourself to get into a situation where you get addicted to anything.

I disagree, people get addicted to pokies because they are stupid, not because the pokies are addictive – pokies are no different to any other vice that dumb people embrace (drugs being an outstanding example).

You seem to be suggesting that pokies somehow lure people to them and force them to feed in the coins. That’s just bollocks.

And as far as I’m concerned, I pay whatever the members price is for food and drinks at the clubs I attend – if that discount comes on the back of morons playing pokies then so be it, my conscience is clear regardless.

Clown Killer said :

tra. The truth often hurts. but I see merit in your point so I’ll rephrase my point. Gambling on pokies is proof that you are stupid. If you don’t gamble on pokies you may still be stupid, its just a bit harder for others to tell.

I actually don’t really care. If people are dumb enough to subsidise my cheap beer and meals, then so be it.
I don’t play the stupid things..

As tra says its not a matter of intelligence if you become a gambling addict. And even if it was, so what. The pokies are machines designed to addict. They are hard to avoid. Governments don’t seem to have the political will to do much about the problems they cause, booklets not withstanding.

People should have enough pride to pay their own way, not boast about the cheap meals and entertainment they get on the backs of problem gamblers and their families. Another demonstration of the meaning of Australian “mateship”.

tra said :

johnboy said :

meh, it’s not like they can read.

maybe you can’t either. otherwise you’d read the wealth of information out there about stupidity not being a major reason for gambling or any other addiction.

link?

deezagood said :

Here’s a novel idea, ban the pokies?

Nice in theory Thumper, but once hooked, the gamblers will simply take their addictions elsewhere (horses, dogs, casino, interstate etc…).

……like, betting on which Rugby League player will be the next to be outed in some sex/drug/alcohol/all-of-the-above scandal?

Nambucco Deliria said :

I note that everyone in this thread criticising gamblers is only having a go at Poker Machine devotees. Is that because they like the odd flutter on the gee gees and or/footy themselves?

personally i prefer the greyhounds. However small monkeys with weapons as jockeys would make it far more appealling to a prime time audience.

I note that everyone in this thread criticising gamblers is only having a go at Poker Machine devotees. Is that because they like the odd flutter on the gee gees and or/footy themselves?

why don’t you all be responsible citizens and ring lifeline for a quote and ask them what type of demographic/education background most of the people they treat are from (and no, it’s not what you’d think)

All that proves is that stupid people can come from any walk in life tra.

tra. The truth often hurts. but I see merit in your point so I’ll rephrase my point. Gambling on pokies is proof that you are stupid. If you don’t gamble on pokies you may still be stupid, its just a bit harder for others to tell.

johnboy said :

meh, it’s not like they can read.

maybe you can’t either. otherwise you’d read the wealth of information out there about stupidity not being a major reason for gambling or any other addiction. and you’re meant to be an educated person? hopefully they’re smart enough, not like us, to visit this website.

and this hilarious rapier like comment from S4nta “They are called an idiot tax for a reason d***head.” oh my sides!!!

why don’t you all be responsible citizens and ring lifeline for a quote and ask them what type of demographic/education background most of the people they treat are from (and no, it’s not what you’d think) and why they do it.

Responsible Gambling

Poker machines, bankruptcy’s best friend

Here’s a novel idea, ban the pokies?

Speaking of novel ideas…

I think we can brighten everyones day by coming up with a couple of more sexy, punchy titles for these booklets…

Such as;

Responsible Gambling

They are called an idiot tax for a reason d***head.

meh, it’s not like they can read.

Clown Killer – do you really think gambling addiction comes down to smart and dumb? OMG – how englightened a comment that is!! i can’t believe this comment even got through considering how offensive it is to gambling addicts and their families/friends.

Working Linky

For comparison on how half-arsed these pamphlets are (and being pamphlets, the likelihood of them ending in the hands of the target audience at a time they would do any good are negligible), have a look at Victoria’s effort:
http://www.vcgr.vic.gov.au/CA256F800017E8D4/WebObj/92327663139D94B2CA257030002680BA/$File/Std_Minister2002broc.pdf

It includes a handy table of odds, explanation of what they mean (Page 4), and sentences like:

Poker machines are a form of entertainment that you pay to use.
The longer you play a poker machine, the more likely you are to lose all the money you have wagered.

The ‘return to player’ setting is the average amount won by players as a share of the cumulative amount staked. By law, Victorian poker machine venues and the casino must return to players at least 87 per cent of the total amount that is bet each year.

Except by some colossal fluke, no single player will experience the ‘return to player’ setting during a play session. It takes millions of games for a machine to tend towards its ‘return to player’ setting.
There is no requirement for an individual poker machine to actually return the expected rate in any given period of play.

Fact: The result of your last game has no bearing on the result of your next game. It is illegal for poker machines in Victoria to base the outcomes of games on previous outcomes. Poker machines cannot react to the frequency of wins or losses. The games operate randomly at all times no matter how many wins or losses have occurred in the past.

when are they going to run the ads? at 4.00am, when the pokie venues throw out the hardened addicts, or at prime time, when they most certainly won’t be at home, watching the box?

Except we don’t see as much cheap food and beer as we used to.

I actually don’t really care. If people are dumb enough to subsidise my cheap beer and meals, then so be it.

I don’t play the stupid things..

+1

We need better education. Only dumb people gamble.

Here’s a novel idea, ban the pokies?

Nice in theory Thumper, but once hooked, the gamblers will simply take their addictions elsewhere (horses, dogs, casino, interstate etc…).

The pamphlets have been around since this time last year, the ads are the only new thing.

Breakdown of their media release is something like this:
“The ACT Government are spending taxpayer money to increase the profile of a product the ACT Government spent taxpayer funds to pdoduce last year, and using these new tv ads to distract you from the fact that the ACT Labor Party gladly suckled the milk of human suffering from the hairy but well-lubricated nipples of Canberra Labor Club Pty Ltd, to the tune of almost $600,000 last financial year, not including any further contributions towards the 2008 Election, because that reporting period isn’t over yet.
For comparison, the entirety of the various Labor Clubs contribution to problem gambling was $93,901 in that same period.

Aren’t those ads nice? You paid for those, not the clubs.
Regards, Katy Gallagher.”

(If you want figures, go check the ACT Electoral 07-08 returns, and the 07-08 ACT Gambling & Racing Community Contributions)

I am also amused that Brendan is shouting about double standards, given his penchant for pedalling the needs of the tourism industry of late, one wonders if a number of tourism operators are also large contributors to the Canberra Liberals??

Here’s a novel idea, ban the pokies?

Thumper are you channeling Nick Xenophon?

Spend the money on mental health – problem gambling is a symptom of not coping with life. With more support behind mental health, perhaps people will turn to a doctor for help, not to gamble to escape.