The Tasmanian Greens today revealed that losses on poker machines in Tasmania for the 2010 calendar year have now topped $160 million, after Tasmanians lost $18,106,991 during the month of September, bringing the total loss figure for the last nine months to $160,533,838.

Greens Gaming spokesperson Kim Booth MP said poker machine addiction and the associated massive financial losses are damaging and destroying lives and families across the state, but there are also serious affects on the Tasmanian economy and especially on the small business sector.

Mr Booth also noted that the Greens are currently participating in a Parliamentary committee investigation into their proposal for a $1 bet limit for poker machines.
 
“For the second year in a row Tasmanians are facing the loss of well over $200 million on the pokies.  This is an unacceptable amount of money that should actually be going towards providing food on tables, heating for homes, and a regular cash-flow into the tills of local small business operators,” said Mr Booth.

“The small business sector is currently facing spiralling cost-of-living impacts, including power and water bill spikes, and is being seriously impacted by the loss of tens of millions of dollars in disposable income that is being sucked out of the community by pokies.”

“Labor rolled out additional poker machines and extended the lease for 20 years in 2003 without any reference to the community who are ultimately paying the price, and Labor must now accept responsibility for the damage they have done, and provide proper protection for problem gamblers.”

“Tasmanians are doing it tough due to the spiralling cost-of-living, and the loss of more than $200 million from our economy every year is seriously damaging the lives of problem gamblers and their families, as well as the wider economy and especially the small business sector which relies heavily on the expenditure of disposable income,” said Mr Booth.

Reference: Electronic Gaming Machine Expenditure by Rolling Year, Department of Treasury and Finance: http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/6044ee0c1cf958a2ca256f2500108bba/cd36bfc11d136484ca2575e10006e703?OpenDocument